All You Are To Me
by Anna Livia
Summary: Damon and Elena have been best friends for their entire lives, but when they risk their friendship to become something more will their relationship be strong enough to weather any storm?
1. Chapter 1: 2 AM

_Hi Delena friends! I have so much fun reading everyone else's stories, I thought I'd take a shot. This is my first fic, I'd love to know what you think!_

_Disclaimer: I do not own the Vampire Diaries, the characters, or their likenesses. No copyright infringement is intended.  
_

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"2 am!" Damon grumbled to himself as he clumsily swiped across his nightstand searching for his ringing phone. "Damnit," he knocked over a glass of water. He had another late night out with Alaric at the bar and had stumbled home and fallen asleep only a half hour earlier. He swiped his finger across the homescreen on his phone in a huff.

"What?!" he answered gruffly without bothering to check the caller ID. He figured it was probably Ric drunk dialing him anyways, trying to talk him into coming back out.

"Da-Damon?" a sniffling voice questioned at the other end of the line, surprised at his tone. Damon instantly softened, cursing himself for not looking at the screen before answering. "So-sorry, I'll call you in the mo-morning."

"No wait! Elena? Are you ok sweetheart? Where are you?" he asked in rapid fire, already out of bed and searching his dark room for the clothes he had tossed off before passing out. She was upset, that much was clear from her scratchy, hiccoughing voice and he was hoping she wouldn't hang up. Elena Gilbert was his best friend and the one constant in his life.

"I can't s-sleep, every time I close my eyes I think about…." She sobbed, "and I see it all over again. I'm all alone, Damon." Elena's parents died in a car accident last spring, she tried so hard to put on a strong face when her older brother, Jeremy, was home for the summer but now that he was back in California at grad school the past six months had caught up with her. She put up a front during the day in front of her friends and coworkers, she was stubborn and proud and she didn't want people to see how broken she was. Secretly she crumbled every night when she went home alone to the house she grew up in and had always been filled with so much love. Damon had offered to move her in with him and his brother, Stefan, at the boarding house but she declined, saying she wasn't ready to leave her home just yet. He still brought it up every couple of weeks, hoping that she would eventually change her mind. Her aunt had an apartment in town, and decided to move in with her but it was a long process since Jenna spent a lot of time traveling to conferences and lecturing for psychology classes at the local university.

"I'm on my way over," he said, slipping into his leather jacket and already half way out the door. When Elena called, he answered—always.

The front door of the Gilbert house swung wide open when Damon knocked. It drove him crazy that she always left her door unlocked, Mystic Falls might be small-town safe but there were no guarantees. The thought of her living alone didn't exactly thrill him, and he constantly worried about the countless things that could happen if he wasn't around. He and Elena had been best friends since she was a toddler and he was used to looking out for her; he made a mental note to resume _Operation: Deadbolt_ as soon as Elena was feeling up to it. He made his way upstairs and found Elena curled up on her parents' bed with her face buried in a pillow that her mother had embroidered with small flowers. Damon gently sat next to her quivering form and rubbed her back reassuringly.

"Hey you," he whispered. She moved to wrap her arms around him. He hugged her tightly against his chest and rested his chin on the crown of her head. She tried to say something in reply but her sobs stole her voice straight from her lips. Her red, puffy eyes and tear-stained face told Damon that she had been crying for a while and it broke his heart to see her like this. He hated that his smart, funny, beautiful, strong girl was reduced to heap of sodden tissues every night and there was nothing he could do about it. He held her tightly while she cried, running his hand over her smooth hair and whispering words of comfort to her.

When her shoulders stopped shaking he pulled slightly away from her so he could look at her face. She stared back at him, her big brown eyes churning with a tempest of sorrow and pain. He hated this. If there was anything he could do to take away her suffering he would do it in a heartbeat. He wished he could carry her burdens, even if only for a short while. She was the only person, except for maybe Stefan, for whom he would gladly sacrifice his own happiness; if he thought staking himself would make her smile, he'd sign up for Whittling 101 tomorrow. A stray tear fell down her cheek and he wiped it away with the pad of his thumb and pulled her back in a tight hug.

She had cried in front of him plenty of times: an old boyfriend, a failed exam, mean girls— the usual stuff, but this was different. All the other times, her sadness was fleeting. This happened at least three times a week and she was hurting so deeply. No one could blame her. She had been in the car with her parents when it all happened. Damon had been out with the Gilberts that night celebrating Elena's new position as an assistant editor at the _Seattle Times_. The _Times_ had shown interest in Elena's writing since her junior year of college when her article about plastic waste on the Duke campus won national recognition from the American Collegiate Press. She had been out with Caroline that morning when Grayson got the call from the _Times_ saying they had received her final transcripts and wanted to officially offer her the job. She was supposed to be leaving for Seattle a few days after that dinner, and Damon, of course, was going with her. Outside the restaurant Elena's father, Grayson, hugged Damon for the first time… ever. He told him to take care of his little girl and make sure nothing happened to her in the big city. He didn't need to be told, of course, but he promised Grayson that he would look out for her. It had been one of the happiest nights of his life… for a brief moment.

_Flashback_

When the phone rang at the boarding house later that night Damon didn't think anything of it until Stefan sheepishly knocked on his door. He told him that there had been an accident and Elena was in the hospital. With almost supernatural speed Damon was out of the door and in his car, driving like a madman to Mystic Falls General Hospital. He ran to the nurses' station to ask where Elena was but was distracted by the commotion in the receiving area of the ER. When he turned to see what the noise was all about, his world stopped spinning. The next few moments were a blur, but there were nurses, doctors, alarms, machines, and plenty of things he didn't recognize whirling around the tiny receiving area. He saw his beautiful Elena between the huddle of shoulders and instruments; she was unconscious and bleeding from a deep gash on her head. Her olive skin was grey and her lips were deathly pale. A steady trickle of blood began to pour from the gurney she was lying on to the floor, making a sickening sputtering sound.

"BP is dropping, she's crashing!" one of the nurses shouted. "I can't get a pulse!" A doctor had two large metal paddles out, hovering above her chest and a nurse was shoving a tube down her throat.

"No," he said aloud to himself, "she can't be…" but his mind wouldn't let him finish the sentence. A nurse grabbed him by his shoulders and tried to push him out of the room.

"Sir, you can't be in here. You need to leave." He stared weakly at Elena's ashen face and let the nurse lead him to a sterile waiting room where he collapsed into a chair. He couldn't focus and couldn't get the image of Elena out of his mind. He stared into space and lost himself in a dark tangle of "what if's." Stefan and Caroline arrived shortly after, keeping silent vigil in the waiting room with Damon. They had both quickly fallen asleep, leaving Damon alone with his thoughts once again. About an hour later the doctor he recognized as the one with the paddles came out to speak to him.

"Damon Salvatore?" to which Damon weakly nodded. He slowly stood to shake the doctor's hand but his stomach violently lurched when he saw a crimson lacing of blood splattered across the doctor's scrub top. He hoped it hadn't belonged to his Elena. "I just got off the phone with Jeremy Gilbert. He said you'd probably still be here; he is getting a flight back but won't be here for a few hours yet. Why don't we have a seat?" He knew this wasn't going to be good, doctors never ask you to sit for a Monday night football recap. Last time he was asked to have a seat he learned that his mother had passed away. Reluctantly he sat back down, and took a deep breath.

"Elena—" he began to ask, but his voice cracked. He cleared his throat, "how is Elena?"

"She's still in critical condition, but we have her stabilized for the moment. She has a lot of internal bleeding from the accident, so she's had a transfusion to maintain her circulation. The muscles of her heart also experienced extensive trauma so we had to defibrillate her twice to correct her arrhythmia. Mr. Salvatore, are you ok?" the doctor put a gentle hand on Damon's arm when she saw his face blanche at the mention of Elena's heart.

"Yeah," Damon cleared his throat again, swallowing his tears, "sorry, is that all? She's going to be ok?"

"We don't know yet, for sure. Her cardiovascular signs are within normal limits and we believe that the bleeding has stopped. She has a deep laceration on her head, and extensive bruising but we won't know the extent of her brain injury until she wakes up."

"Brain injury?" he stuttered, "like damage? What do you mean?"

"She most likely has a concussion, hopefully it won't be anything more extensive. She's young and strong, so we are hoping for the best. She's still unconscious, but she sustained a lot of trauma so that's not unusual."

"Ok, ok," Damon nodded, trying to process everything. "So what you're saying is that you won't know much more until she wakes up?"

"I'm afraid not. She's doing better, but we aren't out of the woods yet."

"And Grayson and Miranda?" He had to ask, but he already knew. Two police officers had stopped by the nurse's station while he was the waiting room and left their information to speak to Elena when she recovered.

"I'm afraid Dr. Gilbert and his wife died at the scene of the accident. I'm so sorry Mr. Salvatore. I know how close your families are." Her concern was real and genuine, she had likely crossed paths with Grayson several times at the hospital and would have known how tightly-knit the Gilbert clan was. "Would you like to see Elena?"

"Yes please," he murmured, knowing that he would have to tell Elena the news about her parents.

"Of course, I'll take you to her room. Like I said, she hasn't woken up yet. But it will help to have a familiar face when she comes to. She's on several IVs right now, and has some monitoring equipment attached to her so we can keep an eye on her vitals." There was an uncomfortable pause, "I need you to be prepared for her appearance. As I mentioned, she suffered extensive blunt force trauma. She is on IV analgesics, so she isn't in any pain right now, but it can still be unsettling." The doctor explained that it may take a few hours to a few days for Elena to regain consciousness and that he was welcomed to stay with her for as long as he liked. When they reached room 7 the doctor gave him a small smile and left him on his own. He stood at the threshold for what felt like an eternity, knowing that if he entered the room it would all be real. When he did finally go inside the tears that he had worked so hard not to let fall in front of the doctor, Stefan, and Caroline came forth again but this time he didn't fight them. His beautiful girl who had been wildly chattering about the Seattle fish market and going to see the whales only a few hours before lay alone in the hospital bed in a scratchy pale green gown. Her hair was pulled away from her face and tied haphazardly with a strip of gauze, showing the deep laceration across her hairline that was being held together by a line of angry-looking stitches. The beautiful face that brightened his worst days was bruised and swollen, almost beyond recognition. Her deep honeyed brown eyes were still closed and her thick lashes lay across small bruises on her cheeks. Her pale lips were slightly parted as she breathed labored breaths. When he came to stand next to the bed, he took her small hand in his own, careful not to dislodge any of her monitoring equipment, and allowed himself to cry in earnest. He gingerly brushed a stray tendril of hair away from her forehead.

"God Elena, please wake up," he pled with her. "Open your eyes sweetheart. I need to know you're going to be ok." He gently stroked her cheek and kissed her knuckles lightly.

He didn't know how many hours he had been sitting next to her, holding her hand and watching the ECG waves roll across the screen, proving that her heart was still beating, when he felt her fingers tighten slightly around his own. His eyes darted to her face and she furrowed her brow and groaned. He jumped up and hit the call button on the wall next to bed, hoping her doctor was nearby.

"Elena?" he said loudly, running his fingers across her cheekbone, "Elena, can you hear me? Open your eyes. Please, just open your eyes."

She struggled to flutter her eyes open and he let out a breath he felt like he had been holding for hours. He found the big doe eyes he loved staring back at him, she was still his Elena.

"Damon?" she croaked, her throat painfully dry.

"Yeah," he said with a soft smile.

"I hurt everywhere," her bottom lip began to tremble slightly.

"I know," he said sadly, "the doctor will be here in a minute and can give you something, ok?"

He felt her fingers on his cheek and she looked at him with concern. "Why are you crying Damon?" He took her hand from his face and kissed her palm. "What's wrong?" She had just come back to him from death's door, and didn't understand why he was upset. She was something else!

"I'm just happy you're ok Lena," he smiled at her again, hoping to relieve some of the tension in the room.

"What happened?" she asked innocently. She couldn't remember anything about the accident, and probably had no idea that her parents were both dead. Damon sat down on the bed next to her, being careful not to jostle her too much.

"You were in a car accident, it was pretty bad. The doctor said you lost a lot of blood," he didn't know how to tell her what he needed to next.

"What about my…?" she trailed off, staring at him. He just shook his head slightly, not knowing a way to put it into words. He moved closer to her and held her while she cried.

_Present_

The look in her eyes at the hospital that night was much the same as it was now and had been for several nights. "Brownies or cookies?" he asked, brushing a stray tendril of hair from her face and tucking is tenderly behind her ear. This had become something of a routine whenever Elena was upset. He would come over, they would bake together, and eventually end up falling asleep on the couch watching movies. It was a ritual that started back when they were at Duke together; he had gotten his first of many late night calls from a weeping Elena because she had failed a physics midterm and was convinced she'd never graduate. The only thing he could think of to take her mind off of school was to try to teach her how to bake (the girl was hopeless!). The mission ended in near disaster after Elena dropped the entire pan of raw batter in the stove, but he got her to smile. The calls had become more frequent recently, but Damon didn't mind in the least; he only wished he could do more for her.

A small smile inched across her lips, "brownies?"

"You got it" Damon replied while light-heartedly saluting Elena.

He went downstairs, tossing his leather jacket over the banister on the way. A picture on the wall caught his attention; it was one of him and Elena on the day of her graduation from Mystic Falls High School. The both had their arms across each other's shoulders, grinning from ear to ear. Elena was draped in every honor cord and sash that the school offered. While Elena was studious and worked hard in school, Damon enjoyed fast cars and late night parties far more than homework and SAT revision. The day that Elena skipped into his living room with the course catalogue from Duke University talking about how it would be her number one choice when it came time to apply he knew he'd have to clean up his act if he was going to stay with her. He spent Elena's junior and senior year of high school studying at the local community college to muster enough units to transfer to Duke. Much to his surprise he was accepted for the spring semester. He smiled, remembering that when he called Elena in her dorm to tell her the good news she was thrilled, but not shocked at all.

"Of course you got in Damon! How could they not take you?! The timing couldn't be more perfect either; one of the guys downstairs is going on a study abroad so his place just opened up. The roommate is a little weird, but he's clean… I think. Anyways, I already sent you a sweatshirt, so I hope you're ok with gray." He smiled at the memory of her giddy rambling on the phone. It was so Elena. Her faith in him was unwavering. Everyone else saw him as spoiled rich partier with no drive or aspiration, but not Elena. Of course, she was the only one he'd ever been comfortable enough to confide in. She knew about all of the dreams he had and things he wanted to accomplish.

"I love that picture," she said from somewhere behind him, breaking him from his reminiscing. He turned around to see a smile on her face and her tears drying. "It seems like forever ago."

"Yeah… you were such a geek," he said cheekily, knowing that she would roll her eyes and punch him in the arm; anything to try to cheer her up. "Ouch, sorry… _are _such a geek. Better?"

"I don't see brownies making themselves Salvatore."

"Geez woman, I'm getting to it, no need to crack the whip," he said rubbing his arm and feigning annoyance. She giggled and brushed past him in the hallway. "Unless you want to, of course," he said waggling his eyebrows at her, making her blush.

"I guess I'll have to do it myself and there's no telling _what_ may happen…"

"Oh no no no, please Lena! I think you've maxed out your allotted fire department calls this year with the pizza incident. Just go pick a movie and let the man handle this." That earned him another playful eye roll and she disappeared to peruse the entertainment options. That was the girl he so desperately missed, the one that he could joke around with and laugh with. He loved every side of her, but playful Elena was his favorite.

Damon knew her kitchen like his own and pulled out all of the pans, utensils, and ingredients they needed. Elena came into the kitchen a few moments later setting two DVD cases on the counter.

"_Love, Actually_ or _Pride & Prejudice_?" she asked peeking over his shoulder.

"Is there a third option?"

"Nope," she smiled, popping the 'p' like she had learned to do from him.

"So which Keira Knightley do I want to be dreaming about tonight…" he mused, trying to ruffle her feathers. "She's pretty hot in that off-the-shoulder white sweater thing in _Love, Actually_."

"_Pride & Prejudice_ it is then," she smiled leaning against the counter, "can I help?" She knew that he wouldn't be able to resist her puppy dog eyes.

"Sure," he handed her a whisk, "mix this together."

She took the whisk happily and shuffled to where he'd been standing. He moved over to the wine rack to find a good bottle that would complement their dessert and glanced over his shoulder. "No, no, you're doing it wrong," patting her hands as he tried to take the whisk from her.

"Well what is the right way to stir brownie mix Emeril?"

"You're not getting the stuff on the bottom, here," he stood next to her so closely the their shoulders were touching and turned the bowl to the side to scrape all of the mix into the batter, "see, now it's all mixed in evenly." She smiled at him with admiration, secretly loving how secure he was with his culinary prowess. She hopped up to sit on the counter and dipped a finger into the batter and tasted it. Damon watched her out of the corner of his eye as she sucked the gooey chocolate from her finger, his imagination running wild.

"What were you up to tonight?" she asked casually, hoping that he hadn't been out with one of his women. Damon had a reputation around town as a playboy. She had never paid much mind to his "extracurricular activities," but it had started to bother her. She didn't want to call it jealousy, but that's exactly what it was.

"Nothing much, Ric and I went to the Grill for the game and I was just getting home when you called," he said handing her the whisk so she could lick off the mix as usual.

"Just you and Ric?" she asked after a moment's pause, trying to seem like she wasn't prying.

"Mason and Tyler showed a little later, Stefan was supposed to be back from New York but he got held up in meetings. Matt saw that Brit chick he's been pining after and vanished. I don't mind Mason, but that little Tyler punk is getting pretty good at hustling me at the pool table," he knew what she was really asking, but he didn't want to tell her that he had spent the better part of the evening with some hot blonde pinned against the wall in the bathroom, wishing it had been Elena's legs around his waist instead. He knew that she had heard plenty about him and around anyone else he'd be boastful about it, but he had never wanted Elena to see him like that; deep down, he was a one-woman man, the only problem was convincing that one woman that he was the man for her. She was the only one who ever got to see the side of him: the Damon who would gladly bake and watch chick flicks in the middle of the night knowing that it wouldn't lead to sex. "How come?"

"Just curious, you sounded pretty grumpy when you answered the phone."

"I wasn't. You call, I come, I'm easy like that," he said with his trademark crooked grin. She let out a small giggle and shook her head at him.

"Did Caroline tell you that she and Stefan went to dinner when she was in New York for that book signing last week?" Elena rarely indulged in gossip, but her best (non-Damon) friend and the younger Salvatore were simply too perfect for each other. Elena and Caroline worked together at a small publishing firm just outside of Mystic Falls, Elena worked mostly as a columnist for a literary magazine that the firm published and Caroline worked with the advertising department.

"Baby Bro and Blondie stretching out the friend zone, huh?" Damon chuckled. Stefan had had a thing for Caroline since she pushed him in the sandbox in kindergarten.

"She hates it when you call her that," Elena chided, watching Damon move around the kitchen with a dishtowel over his shoulder, admiring his slim athletic build. He had never spent a lot of time at the gym, but he loved to play sports and work with his hands, which showed in his well-defined arms and shoulders. She enjoyed watching him work, whether it was in the kitchen, on his car, or in his workshop. She'd usually bring a book or magazine and sit on the bench top pretending to read, but she was really just watching him and his practiced grace.

"Why do you think I still call her that?" he wiggled his dark eyebrows mischievously like he was letting Elena in on a big secret.

"You should be nicer to her, she may be your sister someday."

"Ugh, Lena! Don't put that image in my head," he said, cringing playfully.

"How long until these are done?" she asked tilting her chin towards the oven.

"Probably about twenty minutes or so," he shrugged.

"I'm going to go get my PJs. Do you want anything more comfortable?" she gestured to his dark jeans and black T-shirt.

"I'm fine. Good to know you're hoarding my clothes though," he laughed. He secretly did love it though, the thought that he was such a fixture in her life that she had carved out a space in her home for his things. The feeling he got when he was looking for something at home only to stop and think, _that's right, it's at Elena's,_ warmed his heart in an odd way he couldn't describe. He also had a toothbrush, razor, aftershave, shampoo, a phone charger, a pillow, a tie, three books, and a bottle of bourbon at her house… not that he was keeping track. Perhaps even more secretly he liked the possessive security it brought. He had always worried that someone much more worthy than him would swoop in and carry Elena off into the sunset someday. If she ever brought a guy home, Damon's presence would be clearly known. He wasn't above a little under-handed male posturing, if it meant being her one and only.

Half a pan of brownies and a bottle of wine later, Damon was prying the remote out of a soundly-sleeping Elena's hand. She had fallen asleep curled up into his side with her head on his chest and her arm draped across his body. He had his arm protectively around her shoulders and had thrown a blanket over both of them so she wouldn't catch a chill. Still, this wasn't the most comfortable place to sleep and Elena needed a restful night for once. He shifted a little to extricate himself from underneath her and she grumbled quietly. He lifted her from the couch bridal-style, careful not to rouse her. Her thin arms tightened around his neck when he picked her up and she stirred, but didn't wake. He went slowly up the stairs to her room and laid her gently on her bed. With great care he tucked her blanket around her chin and kissed her cheek. It was quite late so he was thinking that he'd probably stay on the couch downstairs for the night, just in case she had any more bad dreams. Just when he turned to leave her hand shot out and gripped his tightly.

"Stay? Please Damon?" Elena murmured softly.

"I will Lena. I'll be right downstairs if you need anything. Go back to sleep."

"Stay in here please," she plead, pulling him closer and wiggling over to make room for him. "Your sweats are in the top drawer," she said as she looked up at him through her dark lashes. Resisting this girl and her doe eyes was futile. He muttered in acquiescence and pulled the top drawer open, smiling to see his grey sweats and a few of his t-shirts nestled next to her yoga pants and camisoles. He pulled back the blankets and climbed into bed beside her, she settled her head on his chest and wiggled her body tightly against his. He had slept in her bed plenty of times, and had even held her while she slept before, but when he wrapped his arms around her she shifted her legs to tangle with his and gripped his t-shirt even more tightly. He was growing uncomfortably hard and the feeling of her wrapped up with him and he tried to move lest she notice his current problem. The more he moved the tighter she pulled herself against him. He stopped moving entirely and just stared at the ceiling thinking of things much less sexy than Elena tangled around him like a vine. Her grip on him slackened slightly, and he ran his fingers through her hair gently.

He wasn't a cuddler by any means, but he'd give up all the things he was into if it meant getting to hold Elena in his arms every night. He loved the way she seemed to fit against him, she was so warm and soft and her hair smelled like lavender and jasmine. He was thinking uncharacteristically chivalrous thoughts about picnics and candle-lit dinners when a soft moan from Elena brought him back to the present.

"What's wrong?" he asked, looking down at her only to see that she was soundly asleep. He relaxed back into the pillow and closed his eyes. She moved lightly against him and began to breathe more heavily. He figured she was having another nightmare, and was stretching out his arm to turn the lamp on when his heart skipped a beat.

"Mmmm, Damon," she moaned quietly. His jaw dropped and he froze. "That feels good," she mumbled, but he clearly made out the words. One thing was clear: she was _not_ having a nightmare. He felt a little light-headed as his entire blood supply rushed south at the thoughts of what was going on her dream trickled into his brain. He tried to put some distance between him and the sleeping girl next to him, but as he did her hand brushed across his lap causing his to groan in discomfort and gently pound his head into the headboard as a distraction. He moved quickly, rolling himself out of the bed and onto the floor. He sat up on the floor and looked at her carefully. The light from the streetlamp filtering through the window was enough to see a few beads of sweat on her brow and the exaggerated rise and fall of her chest. _Looks like I rocked her imaginary world,_ he smirked to himself. He waddled painfully to the bathroom to relieve some tension. He made a mental note to ask her about her dream in the morning. Maybe the whole feelings thing would be easier than he thought.

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**A/N: Thank you for reading! Is it just me or does that comment box look a little empty? ;)**


	2. Chapter 2: Preparations

_Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Diaires, the characters, or their likenesses. No copyright infringement intended._

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Elena sleepily rolled over expecting to be met with Damon's warmth, only to hear a loud crinkling sound under her hand. She opened her eyes and reached for the folded piece of cream-colored paper with an intricate foil 'S' monogram that was on the pillow next to her. She immediately recognized the paper. A while back Caroline got an ad contract from a fancy letterpress company in Vermont and they send her a bunch of their product samples. It just so happened that they included this particular stationery in their set and Elena gave it to Damon for all of his "important correspondence." They both a good laugh about it since they both knew Damon had nothing to correspond about that rated hand made, personalized stationery so he took to leaving using it to leave notes for Elena. She snorted in the spice aisle at the grocery store the first time she pulled one of the notes out of her purse, complete with a wax seal and double-envelopes only to open and see that it was a list of things Damon needed from the store.

He had forgone the wax seal this morning, but her name was scrawled across the folded edge with a noble flourish. Her eyes scanned over Damon's elegant penmanship, which she always thought made him seem like a gentleman from another era.

_ My Pearl (yeah, someone- who isn't you- made it all the way through _Pride & Prejudice_ last night… you owe me big),_

_Someone was sleeping in too late whilst someone else was withering from starvation. Before I began digesting my own muscles, thusly becoming immobile and unable to fend for myself, I ran out to grab breakfast. Be back soon with sustenance. _

_ In haste & hunger,_

_ Damon_

_P.S. Check that 'whilst'… I may or may not have been stealing Stefan's crossword puzzles._

"Who's the geek now?" she said to herself, smiling at Damon's dramatics. She folded the note, put it carefully in her nightstand. She kept every note he ever gave her in a pink shoebox under her bed. She snuggled back into her pillows, inhaling the fading scent of Damon's cologne and trying to get comfortable enough to fall back to sleep. She was still exhausted from the night before and felt like she could have slept for the rest of the day. Despite her best efforts she couldn't get comfortable, her bed just felt empty without Damon. She loved falling asleep in his arms, where she knew nothing would ever happen to her. Whenever he was with her she felt like everything would be ok. There was something about the way he smiled and the completely inappropriate timing of his jokes that could always make her laugh. She was nearly certain that he was unaware of how important he was to her. Caroline kept trying to convince her that she didn't keep her secret guarded as well as she thought and that their "more than friends" friendship was pretty obvious to the rest of the world. It should have been easy to talk to him about it, after all she trusted him more than anyone in the world. She was, perhaps irrationally, scared that he might leave her if confronted with the depth and seriousness of her feelings for him and having friend Damon was better than no Damon at all.

She heard the front door open and close quietly followed by soft footfalls padding up the stairs. She knew it was Damon returning with the spoils of his breakfast quest so she tried to flatten her bed head as much as possible and wipe the sleep from her eyes, after all she didn't want to be a complete wreck for breakfast in bed. She grabbed the tube of cherry chapstick on her nightstand and quickly applied a coat, hoping the slight pink tint would make her look more awake. Damon opened the bedroom door very quietly, trying not to make any noise and turned to close it behind him. He hadn't looked up at her yet, so she had a few stealthy seconds to admire the way his dark Henley hugged his frame and the way his jeans sat low on his hips. His raven hair was tousled from sleep, but suited his devil-may-care attitude perfectly. He was handsome and he knew it, but she wondered if he knew how truly beautiful he was. He usually relied on his looks for getting what he wanted, but she felt that he too often sold himself short. Stefan had always been the "golden boy," as Damon put it, he was studious, well behaved, and polite. Damon was his opposite in almost every way, even as a kid he was wild and intractable. He fell into the role comfortably because it meant that he never had to take any risks or put himself out there and risk bruising his ego, only Elena knew how clever, funny, and sweet Damon was. She felt honored and special that he didn't share that side of him with the rest of the world.

"It's ok Damon, I'm awake." She said with a stretch after watching him struggle with a bag, two cups of coffee, and the doorknob.

"Excellent, otherwise this was going to get cold," he smiled handing her one of the cups. "And there's no way I could drink that sugary crap."

"You are so good to me," she commented inhaling the aroma of her double shot non-fat caramel macchiato.

"Don't get too crazy just yet. You'll steal the thunder from the frittatas."

"You didn't!" Elena gasped. On the days that Damon gave her a ride to work, they always stopped at the bakery downtown to get breakfast before he dropped her off. This is exactly what she always ordered; she was impressed that he had noticed.

"I might have," he shrugged casually. She pulled back the covers so he could join her and when he did she moved closer to him, he lifted his arm so she could snuggle into his side. Elena loved mornings like this. "Spinach or ham?"

"Hmm," she peered into the bag, "which do you want?"

"Either one," he shrugged, "I know I'll be finishing your leftovers anyways."

"I'll take the spinach, then," she smiled knowing he was right. "So you finished _Pride & Prejudice_, huh?"

"To the bitter end," he nodded.

"It's not that bad," she bumped his shoulder.

"Lena, please," he defended himself, "it's like watching Carol Lockwood host afternoon tea for two and a half hours."

"It's so romantic though," she swooned, "the scene where Darcy confesses his love to Lizzie in the rain, awww," she put her hands over her heart.

"Whatever, Darcy is a pussy," he dismissed her girliness with a smirk.

"Damon!" she screeched, "every girl wants a Mr. Darcy."

"That's crap," he explained, "every girl thinks they want to brooding antihero but that's tedious and boring, ask Caroline in about six months. Girls want a guy who would be like 'fuck your pianoforte lady, I'm here to party.'"

"I don't think you know what you're talking about," she shook her head, laughing hysterically.

"The mom had the right idea about getting smashed at that awful dinner party," he noted.

"Fiiiine," she finally conceded, "we can watch whatever you want next time."

"Brave decision, Miss Gilbert," he said slyly, "I'll come up with something."

"No porn," she immediately added.

"I don't even _own _porn Lena. Having to explain to my mother how you ended up in the parlor with my stolen issue of Playboy put me off of it permanently."

"Ugh," she groaned, "I didn't know what it was! I thought it was another one of your car magazines!"

"I tried to blame it on Stefan, but mom didn't believe me."

"Well, Damon… come on, that's pretty obvious," she cocked her eyebrows at him, "the only way Stefan would have ever stolen an adult magazine would be if you told him to. He's probably still too shy for Playboy."

"Poor Saint Stefan," Damon pouted theatrically, "maybe Blondie can loosen him up a little. She can score a Salvatore Sweep."

"Oh my god, Damon! Filter!" Elena jabbed at him with her fork. Caroline and Damon "dated" for a brief period after Damon graduated and she and Elena were sophomores. Caroline was in a spat with her mom at the time and she knew her mom hated the fact that she was seeing an older boy and Damon just went along with it for fun. He had also hoped that Caroline might let it slip to Elena how good he was in bed and she'd want a chance with him.

"What?" he held up his hands in surrender, "it's not like I'm going to have a trophy made or anything. On second thought…" he was silenced by her flinging a pillow at his head. "Don't be mad at me, I was a hormonal teenager."

"Right, and so much has changed since then," she laughed. The boyish smile he flashed her only served to prove her point.

"It wasn't my most shining moment ok, and really I was the victim. Caroline used me to get back at her mom. It's very hurtful, Elena, to be treated like a piece of meat," he was doing a very good job of pretending to be hurt.

"Aww, poor baby," she patted his knee patronizingly, "that must have been awful for you." He just shrugged. They sat in companionable silence for a few moments finishing their breakfast.

"Are you done?" he gestured towards her plate.

"Yeah," she handed him her plate and he took her fork from her to finish what she couldn't eat, "that was amazing. Thank you."

"Don't mention it, besides I really was going to die if you slept any longer."

"Not just for breakfast, but for everything. I don't know what I'd do without you Damon." She looked up at him with a smile to see that he was smiling fondly back at her. "I mean, I'd probably weigh less and have to spend less time at the gym."

"You love my cooking Lena," he said pinching her side lightly, earning a giggle, "besides you're perfect how you are. Did you sleep ok last night?"

"Yeah."

"Good, I was a little worried," he wanted to drag this moment out and see how she reacted, "I thought you were having nightmares again at one point."

"Oh, uh… nope," she responded quickly.

"Hmm," he paused, "what _were_ you dreaming about? It seemed pretty… _vivid_."

"Nothing, I can't remember," she said, flushing deep red. She looked down so her hair could cover her face. That was the only answer he needed to confirm his suspicion. "H-how did you sleep? I know my bed is kind of small and…"

"_Very_ well," he interrupted her, "I had an even better waking up."

That made Elena swoon… hard. If she stayed in bed with him for a single second longer she couldn't be trusted not to do something reckless. Instead, she swung her legs over the side of the bed and willed her weak knees to stand. When she turned around she noticed that he was leaning his head against the headboard and pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, just a bit of a headache."

"So you mean hung over," Elena laughed, "I'll get you some Tylenol." She left to the bathroom and reappeared in moments producing two small reds caplets and a glass of water. She dropped the pills in his hand, letting her fingertips brush against his palm lightly.

"Thanks," he said with a grateful smile, but he still looked out of sorts. She placed her palm against his forehead to feel for a fever.

"Are you sure you feel ok, Damon? You don't look so good," she asked, furrowing her brow in concern.

"Elena… come on, I _always_ look good," he smirked wiggling his eyebrows at her suggestively. She just scoffed playfully and shook her head.

"Your ego needs its own zip code. I'm going to take a quick shower."

"Is that an invitation, Miss Gilbert? So very forward of you."

Elena just blushed and headed towards the bathroom that was adjoined to her room. She hated when he called her out like that. For a split second she pondered telling him that yes, in fact, it was an invitation. Then maybe she'd get to act out her "nightmare" from last night in all its _vividness_. She settled for the schoolgirl blush and awkward shuffle into the bathroom instead. When she closed the door she fell back against it to catch her breath. She couldn't keep this up forever; sooner or later something had to give.

It was well after eleven when Elena came down the stairs in fresh clothes with her hair still wet from the shower.

"Damon?" she called out to see if he was still there. She hoped he hadn't put off any of his plans to spend the day with her, but she loved having him around.

"Yeah?" he called out from the living room. Damon was reading a leather-bound copy of _Call of the Wild_ that Elena had given him for his birthday a few years ago. He leaned back on the couch to get a better view of the kitchen where Elena had to refrigerator door open, rustling around the contents for the carafe of juice she made yesterday.

"Do you want some orange juice?" she asked. He couldn't see Elena until she closed the refrigerator door, but when she did he was speechless. She was wearing cut off denim shorts with a white tank top and her chestnut hair fell across her shoulders in damp waves. She was beautiful, even fresh out of the shower without a stitch of make-up. He couldn't take his eyes off of her.

"What?" she asked, a little self-conscious, glancing down at her outfit to see if something was obviously wrong. She shook the carafe gently, reminding him of her previous question.

"Huh?" he stammered, "oh, no thanks. Just, uh... how was your shower?" _No! Why did you ask that? So you can torture yourself with thoughts of her wet and naked in a steamy shower… alone._

"Fantastic, nice and toasty. Thank you for turning up the water heater thingy, I haven't water that hot in weeks. What're your plans for the day?" she asked, casually plopping down on the couch next to him, tucking her legs underneath her and glancing over to see what he was reading.

"Eh, you know, the usual. Sit around, read a little, lounge. I've got that table I've been meaning to finish so if the workshop roof has stopped leaking I might do that, maybe fix the leaking roof. The possibilities are endless." Damon's parents had left him a more-than-generous trust fund and his shares of the family company were wildly profitable so he was a self-described "gentleman of leisure." He loved woodworking and studied design in college, so he spent most of his free time building things in his workshop. "How about you?"

"I have a book review to work on for that magazine interview in Richmond, and probably…"

"Go to dinner with me tonight," he blurted out, interrupting her in the form of a statement, more than a question. While Elena was in the shower he had pep talked himself into asking her out; he hadn't gone over technique, however, and he was regretting that now.

"Damon, it's Saturday, that's a given." They'd been going to wing night at the Grill since Damon got his driver's license. Damon would usually bring whatever girl he was rubbing against that week to get Elena's opinion. They were all just distractions for him since he couldn't have the girl he really wanted, Elena was the one he really enjoyed spending time with outside of the bedroom. They usually competed to see who could eat more wings, had a few drinks, and played a couple of rounds of pool. It wasn't fancy, but it was comfortable and it was one of the few times when Elena would actually let loose and forget about work and her other obligations for a while.

"No, I mean like an actual sit-down dinner at a place with no neon lights."

"Hmm, where would one find such a place in Mystic Falls?"

"One wouldn't, but there's a new Thai place a few towns over that has gotten great reviews. Their pad thai is supposed to be the best in Virginia." Oh yeah, he knew her weaknesses and he wasn't afraid to exploit them.

"Sold, you had me at pad thai. It's a date Salvatore," she said with a wink.

"Good. Great," he stuttered, he hadn't expected her to say that, "I'll pick you up at 7 then," he wanted to kick down the door and run out singing in the street, but he figured a casual goodbye might be better and less conspicuous. "See you in a few hours." He kissed her on the cheek, picked up his jacket and headed out the door.

As soon as he got in the car he dialed Ric, his favorite drinking buddy and best non-Elena friend. He knew he'd probably be waking him up after DrunkFest 2012 last night, but he didn't care, he had to tell someone that he got Elena to agree to go on a date with him.

"Well, well, if it isn't Mr. MIA. We missed you last night buddy, I thought you were coming over after the Grill to break in the new pool table with us," Ric said when he answered the phone. He sounded awake, that was good because Damon needed a good _mano y mano_ chat about what he was going to tell Elena tonight.

"I had an Elena emergency and ended up staying over for the night."

"It's noon man, that's more like staying for the night and day."

"Yeah, well night, day, and night. She said 'yes' to dinner tonight."

"You're not taking her to wing night, are you?" Ric groaned.

"Yeah…" Damon paused for a moment, "No Ric, I am taking her to an actual nice restaurant. Believe it or not, I do know how to take a girl out properly."

"Oh yeah? Where are you going?" Ric asked skeptically.

"That new Thai fusion place in Somerset."

"Alright Salvatore," Ric said approvingly, "you've done your homework. So is this like a date-date or another I'm-going-to-awkwardly-pretend-this-isn't-a-date-because-you're-my-BFF date."

"Don't say BFF Ric," Damon admonished, his students really were influencing him too much, "and I think it's going to be a date-date." He paused again, almost as though to reassure himself of what he was going to say next, "I think I'm doing it tonight, I'm going to tell her everything."

"Wait, wait, you mean like _everything_ everything?" Ric questioned in disbelief.

"Like ripping off a bandaid, right? I have to. I can't take it anymore. Every time I'm around her all I can think about is… just, not what I should be thinking about." Damon left out the rest since Ric, aside from being his best friend and the second half of Team Badass, was also Elena's almost-uncle through his engagement to her aunt Jenna.

"Yeah, thanks for sparing me the details about whatever you've got for my niece. Are you sure you're ready or that she's ready? I mean that's a pretty massive step to take."

"I know," he paused again, not really sure what to say, "I'm ready, I've been ready for a long time and she seems to be in a good place. From what you've told me Jenna seems to think she's coping well, and I don't know, I guess… I just want to be there for her more."

"Wow, listen to you all spreading your wings and being grown up like."

"Really feeling the love right now Ric. Thanks," Damon rolled his eyes. Leave it to his best friend to turn an emotional confession into a joke. Come to think of it, that's probably exactly why they were friends, peas in a pod and all that.

"Easy man, I'm just messing with you. You know I ship Delena."

"Ok Ric, you've really got to stop hanging out with high school kids. I think it's affecting you on a deep intellectual level."

"I'm just saying, Elena's been through a lot and she deserves to finally have some happiness. Jenna is always abuzz about you two, and she's got excellent taste in men if I do say so myself, so I'd trust her opinion. But if you need to drown your sorrows later, you know where to find me."

"Always the optimist Ric. Later." Damon hung up and gripped the steering wheel a little tighter. Tonight was going to be the night where he could walk away with all or nothing. He didn't want Elena to feel like he was pressuring her into anything, but he had to be put out of his misery one way or another. If she didn't want to give them a try romantically he would go back to being her friend and hopefully things would continue as they ever were. If she felt the same about him and he did about her though, he knew that they would be epic. He'd cherish her and worship her and prove to her how much he's always loved her everyday. If she accepted him, he'd never let her go.

Elena waited anxiously at the front window, peeping out of a small gap in the curtains. As soon as Damon's car was out of view she pulled out her phone and rang Caroline. She was the only other person who knew the extent of her feelings for Damon, and it wouldn't hurt to get a full Forbes make over before tonight.

"Lena! Are you calling because you feel the need to go with me to the mall?" Caroline said half-joking. Elena never said yes to mall trips. She _sometimes_ acquiesced to being dragged along so Caroline could play dress up with her and make her buy a bunch of clothes she never wanted to wear again. But the girl did have style, and Elena wanted to wow Damon tonight.

"Yeah, I actually am," Elena said with her smile evident on the phone.

"Really?!" Caroline squealed. "I am going to be so sad if you're messing with me. You better not be messing with me. Wait, this is Elena Gilbert, right?"

"I am 100% serious, Care. Damon just asked me to go to dinner with him and not wing night. He wants to take me to some new Thai place outside of town. He said it got great reviews." Just saying it out loud had Elena feeling nervous and jittery, it sure sounded like a date, right? A person wouldn't search for restaurant reviews and plan an out-of-town dinner to have a friendly meal, right? Not when they could go to the Grill and grab a burger with no trouble at all. Yes, this definitely sounded like a date.

"Get out!" Caroline said with shock. She had been privy to Elena's Damon-longing for years and she knew they'd end up together, as soon as they allowed themselves to admit their feelings and get over whatever weird insecurities they each had. "He's been planning. Oh my god, tonight could be _the_ night, Lena!"

"Don't get too far ahead of yourself, Care," Elena knew exactly what she was talking about. "It's just dinner, it's probably not even a real date." She was trying very hard to be the voice of reason and not get swept up in the girlish excitement in Caroline's voice.

"Whatever, we're going to Victoria's Secret, just in case. Better safe than granny panties! I'll pick you up in 15 minutes."

"Care…"

"Oh no, Elena Gilbert you do _not_ get to 'Care' me missy," Caroline said mimicking Elena's pouty tone of voice, "you have been in love with Damon since forever ago and he's been in love with you since at least that long too. Somehow you are the only two who don't see it. So, here's what you're going to do: you're going to go to dinner, you're going to look freaking amazing after I do your hair and make-up, and you're going to jump his bones already! Then tomorrow you can call me and tell me all about how I was right. And I'm going to want details."

Elena couldn't help but blush, not so much at Caroline's words but at her own desire for them to come true. Caroline was always so cheerful and positive about everything and that was one of the things she admired most about her bubbly blonde friend. In college Caroline hosted a radio program on the campus station called _Care to Elaborate_ where she gave style and dating advice to callers. Despite being on the eleven to midnight slot on Wednesday nights her unique brand of go-getterism and spunky personality attracted more callers than she could take on air. Since then she dedicated herself to making sure Elena and Damon got their fair shot at happily ever after. Despite her own past with the elder Salvatore brother, she had his back. There were more nights than she cared to admit where she had been woken up by a completely drunk Damon needing a ride home from some woman's apartment. The first time he had dialed her accidentally when he'd been meaning to call Elena, but she made him promise that he would never, ever call Elena. She didn't want Elena to see Damon at his worst because she knew it was just his coping mechanism. Underneath all of his manwhoring, he was completely and hopelessly in love with her best friend and if given the chance, he could be her perfect partner. Then again, Caroline had always been a bit of a romantic.

_Flashback_

"Damon?" Caroline asked groggily wondering why Damon was calling her at 1:30 in the morning, "what the hell? Are you drunk?"

"Yes ma'am. I mean to call Lena, nevermind," he was about to hang up when she caught him.

"Wait, wait, stop Damon," she could see disaster on the horizon and had to intervene, "why were you going to call Elena?" Drunk conversations never end well.

"I left my car in town, and now I can't go to my house for sleeping. I was going to try walking, but nope… too far. So I call Lena and go to my house in her car, or her house. Either way."

"Ugh," she sighed, knowing that she was on the hook now, "where are you?"

"Mary's? or Shelly's? I don't know."

"You're at a woman's house Damon!" Caroline nearly screamed into the phone. Calling Elena for a late night pick up from the bars would have been annoying but acceptable, fetching him from a drunken booty call crossed the line in a major way.

"No," he said, shocked at her reaction, "I'm outside of her house."

"You are totally shameless, you know that. What's the address? I'm on my over." She punched the address into her GPS and soon found Damon sitting on the sidewalk, looking a little more sober and sheepish

"Thank you Caroline," he muttered getting into the passenger side and buckling the seatbelt. "This isn't awkward at all, eh?" he grinned. _Ok, so he's not as sober as I thought, awesome… not_.

"What were you thinking, Damon?!" she scolded him, "you were going to call Elena to come pick you up from one of your germ-ridden skanks. Do you have two brain cells that rub together Salvatore?"

"Chillaaaax Blondie," he slurred, "no need to go call girl police on me. I'm am one of Mystic Falls' most elig-i-ble bach-e-lors." He was having problems getting his words out coherently and under any other circumstance, Caroline would film it as evidence for later, but she really was the girl police tonight.

"You are a manwhore Damon," she started in on him, "you are a slutty, slutty manwhore so don't dress it up otherwise!"

"Why you so mad Caroline?" Damon stared at her with his brow furrowed in confusion. He really didn't seem to understand why she so angry with him.

"I'm pissed because my best friend is completely in love with you and you were going to call her in the middle of the night and have her come pick you up from Scary Mary's den on iniquity while you're drunk off your ass!"

"Bonnie is in love with me? I thought she hated me," he frowned.

"Bonnie does hate you, you idiot! ELENA! Elena is in love with you and don't pretend like you don't know it! Every time you're around she gets her moony gaga eyes and gazes at you like you can do no wrong. So keep it that way!"

"Really?" he grinned widely, "you think Elena has feelings for me?"

"Yeah, she does Damon. And you acting like this doesn't exactly work in your favor. What if you would have been coherent enough to phone her tonight, huh? It would have been disastrous! You would have broken her heart into a thousand little tiny pieces. Then she would have called me crying and I would have had to find you and kill you, per girl code. For some reason she remains blind to the fact that you can't keep it in your pants. So just don't, ok?!"

"Don't do what?" he shook his head, "you're saying too much, I don't know what I'm agreeing to."

"Don't call her like this," Caroline shouted, exasperated with his lack of focus, "like ever! Next time you repeat your idiocy from tonight, don't call Elena! Call Ric or Stefan or even me, but you have to promise you won't call Elena."

"Oook," he said carefully.

"No, you have to promise you won't Damon. Say you promise."

"Ok, I promise." They were silent for a few blocks as Damon allowed Caroline's revelation to sink it. "I'm in love with Lena. I love her so much, Caroline."

"Duh," Caroline snapped.

"No really, Caroline. I mean it," he said earnestly, "I adore her and how her little nose scrunches like a baby kitten when she gets cross about something," he mimicked a kitten scrunching its nose. "If I could make her go some dates with me, I'd never go on dates with other women. Then she went on a date with freaking Matt tonight. Matt Donovan, Caroline! What's he got that I don't got, huh? He thinks he's soooo cool with his truck and being Matt Donovan-ness. High school's over Donovan! No one cares about your football and being perfect gentleman guy. I played baseball _and_ lacrosse and Lena loves lacrosse! Way more than stupid football!" He was shouting now and she knew he was crossing into sad, emotional drunk territory and he would have to be handled gently. She made sure to put the kitten comment in the memory bank for future use, if needed.

"That's not nice Damon, Matt is your friend."

"Pssht, whatever. He's my nemesis now. He was like 'ooo Lena, I'm so cultured and worldly, we should get sushis for dinner so you can see how awesome I am 'cause I can eat with chopsticks.' That's a bunch of frickin' crap Caroline! Lena doesn't even eat the fishes! But oh Matt Donovan asked so now she wants to eat _all_ the fishes. I hope Matt is allergic to shrimps. I'm not you know, I could eat shrimps and fishes if I wanted to, but I never asked her to go to sushis because she doesn't like it! And fuck chopsticks, I bet I could do that too, if I wanted but I don't 'cause it's stupid. But I could be fuckin' Bruce Lee with chopsticks."

"Sounds like you're a little jealous, maybe?" she tried to keep her voice calm and quiet, hoping he would follow suit.

"Fuck no! I am not jealous Caroline! Damon Salvatore doesn't _do_ jealous. Especially not about Matt Dono-suck. He's not even funny Caroline! Like all the time, peoples are laughing at his jokes 'cause they feel bad he's so boring. He makes Stefan seem exciting! He probably doesn't even know that she likes breakfast better than dinner, if he really wanted to make good dates he'd take her for blueberry pancakes and Mabel's off of route 14 'cause those are her favorites. And he'd get a waffle with strawberries even though it's not good 'cause she always wants to eat a corner of it but doesn't want to order a whole one for herself. I always share my waffle Caroline! I don't even like eating waffles and I hate strawberries. They're the stupidest fruit ever!"

"Damon…" she really wanted him to calm down. She felt like he was on the verge of a full-on meltdown. The phrase "drunken words are sober thoughts" came immediately to mind, and she felt genuinely bad for Damon, knowing how much he cared for Elena but paralyzed by the fear of risking their friendship. "It's ok, I'm sure you're the only one she shares waffles with Damon."

"It's not ok Caroline!" He was raising his voice again, "Maybe now she likes my waffles now, but how abouts when some guy with better waffles is like 'hey let's share some waffles,' and she's like 'yeah, your waffles are way better than my _friend_ Damon's waffles' and she never wants my waffles again! Then what, huh?! Then who am I gonna share waffles with? I'll never love someone as much as I love Elena!"

"Elena is _not_ going to leave you, Damon," she rolled her eyes at the ridiculousness of the notion. It was, in some way, refreshing to see Damon so vulnerable with his defenses down. Under all of his narcissism and ego he was just a guy in love with a girl and scared that she didn't love him in return. "It's one date, and Matt just wanted to catch up since she moved back from school."

"I don't care if it's just one million dates!" he snapped cattily making no sense at all, "She's not supposed to go out with other guys Caroline, she's supposed to be mine! Lena Gilberts is supposed to be all mine and not nobody else's. But then she's not, she's like 'Damon, you're my _best friend_.' So that's what I get Caroline! Matt Donovan gets to take my girl out for raw fishes and kissing on the porch and I get Scary Mary and mediocre head."

"Damon! Don't talk like that, gosh! I don't want to hear the sordid details!" she was very glad that Elena was not the one driving him home at the moment. If he had said something like that to her, it wouldn't have been good.

"Why not? It's true, you're always talking about being honest so there. It wasn't that good, and I was wasteded! I drank nine long islands," he emphasized, holding up ten fingers, "and a bunch of bourbons and went to that chick's house. Even after _all_ of that I couldn't stop thinking about Lena eating stupid fishes with stupid Matt Donovan and I just got pissed off."

"So you are a manwhore to spite her?" Caroline asked carefully, hoping she was interpreting what he said incorrectly.

"No, no!" he said quickly, waving his hands wildly "I don't want to spite Lena or make her sad. I want to make her happy and not sad. But she's all I can think about all the time and sometimes it hurts my head and I can't focus on things. She's just so pretty, prettier than anyone else, no offense. Her hair always smells good like those little purple flowers by her house. She's so sexy when she dances around when she thinks no one is watching. She used to do it all the time in our apartment in Durham in her little boy shorts panty underpants. She just makes me want to toss her on my bed and f…"

"Stop! Enough, I don't want to know," Caroline cut him off abruptly. "So you whore around as a distraction from your Elena-pining?" It all made sense to Caroline now, he was filling his Elena-shaped void with meaningless one-night stands— oldest trick in the book.

"Mhmm, yeah I guess that's a good way to say it. You're like a psycholotrist."

"If you promise me that you won't ever do anything to hurt Elena and break her heart, I'll help you win her over." Caroline suddenly felt giddy about her potential role as matchmaker to her two friends. She hoped Damon would agree to her terms, more importantly, she hoped that he would remember their agreement in the morning when he sobered up.

"Wait, wait, wait! So you're saying that if I don't be bad, you'll make Elena love me back?" he asked skeptically.

"No, you moron, Elena _already_ loves you. If you stop acting like a dick I'll talk her into giving you a chance."

"And she won't go on dates with Matt Donovans anymore?" he raised an eyebrow at her. The fact that he was trying to use some discretion made Caroline laugh out loud.

"I'm not saying anything like that Damon, I'm just saying that if you stop doing crap like this I'll pull the girlfriend card and talk her into going out with you. From there it's all you."

"Yeah, ok," he turned to Caroline with a genuine smile that made her laugh, "you got a deal Forbes." He held out his hand to shake on their deal. She shook his hand and smiled, thinking of where to start on her mission.

"I'm gonna take Lena on the best dates ever. No fishes or shrimps," he looked out the window, looking completely satisfied with himself.

_Present_

Elena hung up the phone and panic started to set in. What if tonight was _the _night, like Caroline said? She had thought of losing her virginity to Damon a thousand times, but the prospect of actually going through with her made her freak out. She wasn't even sure if this was a date or not. It probably wasn't. Damon is probably just being a good friend and taking her out to get her mind off of everything for an evening. Damon hated dating, he'd complained about it constantly. Despite her promise of 15 minutes, Caroline was at the front door in exactly 8. She was ready for their shopping excursion and Elena couldn't help but feel that Caroline was equally, if not more, excited than she was; she felt confident that she was in good hands. Caroline grabbed her hand and pulled her to the car.

"I'm thinking something blue, it's the new red and it'll go with whatever he wears, unless he wears orange, but not likely. Show a little skin but not too much. Give him something to salivate over," Caroline smiled over her shoulder. "Oh! And I brought you these," she said reaching into the backseat and dropping a pair of strappy black designer stilettos in her lap and she backed her car out of the drive way.

"Care, I can't wear these, I'll break my neck," Elena tried to hand them back, but Caroline held her hand up.

"Driving Elena! And yes you can wear them, _if_ you trip you'll fall right into Damon's strong open arms," the blonde girl said with a flourish.

"It's not like that Care," Elena giggled shaking her head.

"Oh come off it! He's got that romance novel stare whenever he looks at you. We're going to get you a hot dress and hot lingerie and you're going to sweep him off his feet."

"You really think so?" Elena asked, shyly tucking her hair behind her ear.

"No," Caroline shook her head, "I _know_ so." The blonde girl winked at her friend.

"What if _it_ really does happen tonight?" Elena asked awkwardly. "I mean, you know… I don't know what to do."

"Is that why you're so nervous?" Caroline asked softly, already knowing the answer.

"Well… yeah," Elena admitted shyly.

"Don't be! It's the most natural thing in the world Lena, and besides, Damon has plenty of experience."

"Yeah," Elena scoffed, "Damon and his women…"

"I didn't mean it like that," Caroline quickly apologized, "I just mean that he's not going to make you figure it out on your own. And just because he's experienced doesn't make this any less special for either or you. I'm sure he's been waiting for you for just as long as you've waited for him."

"I guess," the brunette accepted reluctantly, "but what if I just don't measure up? Like what if I'm just not good at it, or it's awkward, or something goes wrong?"

"Stop worrying! I can't feel your blood pressure go up from here. Damon loves you, so it's not going to awkward. When you're with someone you love, it's totally different and there's no possible way for it to be bad."

"How do you know? He's never even said anything about me."

"I'm not supposed to tell you this, so you can't tell Stefan that I told you. But do you want to know a secret?"

"Sure," Elena said, hoping it was something good.

"Ok, so when I was in New York last time I went to dinner with Stefan you know," Caroline launched into her story as they were walking into the mall, "and we had a few cosmos, and he's just so cute when he's drunk. He was so chatty and giggly… oh yeah, Stefan Salvatore was giggling. Anyways, he started talking about Damon and how he overheard him and Ric while they were playing _Calling Duties_ or whatever. And Ric was like 'So what's up with you and Elena' and Damon was like 'Nothing,' and Ric was like 'Whatevs, tell me the truth,' and Damon was like 'Oh my god, ok so I'm totally in love with her,' and Ric was like 'Duh,' and Damon was like 'Yeah, I've been really scared of the potential for rejection for a long time and I worry about what that would do to my masculinity, but we're going on a date and I'm going to fess up,' then Ric was like 'Oh my god, you should go to that new place out of town,' and Damon was like 'that's totally what I was thinking!'"

"That didn't really happen," Elena said laughing at her friend's story, she wasn't sure what was funnier, imagining Damon and Ric gushing in Caroline-speak over video games or Stefan getting drunk and giggly off cosmos.

"Well that was pretty much the gist of it," Caroline shrugged, "the take home point is that he's in love with you, you're in love with him. And… oh my god!" Caroline stopped in her tracks, staring into one of the store's windows at a blue dress on a mannequin, "that is _the_ dress!"

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**Hi readers :) So I've got a pretty good chunk of this story already, so I'll try update quickly. Thank you for all of the favs and follows, I really appreciate how awesome you all are! Don't forget to review :)**


	3. Chapter 3: The Art of Admission

_Thanks for the awesome reviews! Smut ahoy (this _is _rated M after all)._

_Barbara SGB- Thank you! Hope you enjoy this chapter too!_

_boothishot- Thank you! Update fresh from the oven :)_

_kaybaby1127- I wouldn't leave you hanging, we'll get to the bottom of their feelings. The dreams will definitely come back later ;) Hope you enjoy the date!_

_maddybug15- Thank you for the kind words!_

_noobishere- Ask and you shall receive. Hope you enjoy the update :)_

_elie- Thank you for the support! Who wouldn't want an adorable drunk Damon? ;)_

_Alice- Thank you times a million! You're so sweet :) I hope you enjoy chapter 3 as much as the first two.  
_

_Unidentified guest(s) ;)- Of course they'll get together, team Delena! Waffles... epic soulmates, same diff :)_

_DISCLAIMER: I do not own the Vampire Diaries, the characters, or their likenesses. No copyright infringement intended._

* * *

Elena was sitting at her vanity as Caroline put the finishing touches on her make up when there was a knock at the door. She looked over at her clock and saw "7:00" flashing brightly.

"Oh my gosh, Care," Elena squeaked, whipping around to look at her friend for reassurance, "that's him. He's here." She was wringing her hands and feeling ridiculous, this was Damon and she had nothing to be scared of. This would be the first time they've ever met at the door on these terms before— as potential lovers.

"Whoa Lena! Easy on the hair, that took me forever!" the blonde exclaimed, she brushing a few stray strands back into place. "What are you waiting for? Go! I'll lock up before I leave if Jenna isn't here yet."

Elena carefully made her way down the stairs, trying not to trip on the shoes Caroline had loaned her. She took one deep breath before turning the door handle. When Elena opened the door, Damon thought he had died and gone to Damon Heaven. The woman before him was not the same woman he had left here a few hours ago in cut-offs and a tank top. This woman was wearing a strapless, knee-length royal blue chiffon dress with a corseted bodice that hugged her body like a glove, the hi-lo hemline of the full skirt swirled around Elena's knees like ocean waves. She was wearing tall black heels that were strappy in all the right places as to be sexy but not trampy. Her hair was swept back in a loose chignon at the nape of her neck, which showed off her delicate décolleté. The only jewelry she was wearing were a pair of long silver chandelier earrings and the silver charm bracelet Damon had given her for her sixteenth birthday. She was wearing very little make-up, which made her even more beautiful. He couldn't take his eyes off of her and wanted to skip dinner all together and take her upstairs and make her his.

"Damon!" she said a little louder, snapping him from his fantasies, "are you alright?"

"Very fine milady," he tried to seem casual and not come off like a total lunatic, "just admiring the general splendor of your wardrobe. I can't remember the last time you wore a dress and shoes like that… ever."

"You like it?" she asked, "Caroline picked it out. Apparently blue is the new red or something."

_Note to self,_ Damon thought, _send Caroline a very extravagant gift at next appropriate occasion. Hell, send her a new Mercedes… tomorrow!_

"I like it very much," he said doing his eye thing, earning a wide smile from her. "Blue may be my new favorite color."

"You look rather dashing yourself," she said. He opted for his usual monochrome palate. He had always known how to dress himself, and he was more than confident about his ability to pull off the tailored black suit he was wearing. His dark grey button down hugged his chest perfectly, he hated ties and skipped them whenever possible, leaving the top couple of buttons undone for comfort.

"Oh, yeah," he said, remembering that he brought her something, "this is for you." He handed her a single red rose.

"Oh my gosh, Damon," she gasped, "it's beautiful. Thank you." So far, this was shaping up to be the best date ever. "I'm just going to put it in a vase. Just one second. Come in." He caught the sweet heady aroma of lilies and honeysuckle from her perfume when he brushed past her and it made him feel intoxicated. She scurried to the kitchen to find a bud vase for her rose. Damon stared after her, loving the way her dress moved with her and hugged her curves. He caught himself wondering where the zipper on her dress was, or maybe it had a bunch of those tiny buttons? Hopefully a zipper, those buttons were too hard to undo. He wondered what she was wearing underneath since that definitely wasn't the kind of dress a woman wears over simple cotton undergarments. This would undoubtedly be the longest dinner he would ever have.

Elena admired the rose in the vase for a moment. She was going to press this and cherish it forever. She had no idea Damon could be so romantic. While she was in the kitchen Caroline came down the stairs with Elena's purse. Seeing Damon standing nervously in the entryway she thought to herself, _oh yeah, most def a real date._

"You clean up nice, Salvatore Uno," she smirked.

"Caroline," he dipped his head in a discrete greeting, "so did you have to pull the girlfriend card?" She knew exactly what he was talking about.

"No, I didn't actually," she smiled, "she already had her mind made up before she called me."

"Hmm," he was trying hard to hide his excitement.

"But, later tonight… you're welcome for that," she said with a wink. She did have to put in some serious girlfriend time, but it wasn't to get Elena to go out with Damon. Just then, Elena emerged from the hallway she was positively beaming.

"Ready to go?" he asked with a slight sense of urgency, wanting to put some distance between them and the bedroom immediately after Caroline's suggestive comment.

"Yeah, let me just grab my purse."

"Oh, here you go," Caroline handed her small black clutch to her. Damon held out his elbow for her and she wrapped her arm around it.

"Thanks, have a good night Care," she gave her friend one last nervous smile.

"Goodnight Caroline," Damon said formally.

"Goodnight," she followed them to the door watching as they walked down the porch steps hand in hand, "have fun." She smiled as she closed the door. She sighed with relief; those two were _finally_ on the right track.

Damon opened the passenger door for Elena. "Carmen awaits," he said with a smile. He had always used the affectionate nickname for his car and she thought it was endearing. Before she got it the car, their eyes met for a moment. "You look really beautiful, Elena." Her cheeks warmed bashfully at his compliment. For some reason, he felt compelled to shower her with praise. He couldn't believe that she had gotten so dressed up just for him and he wanted her to know how much he appreciated it.

"Reservations?" The hostess cooed, batting her eyes at Damon and licking her lips suggestively.

"Two for Salvatore," Damon said, Elena's arm still secure in the crook of his elbow. It occurred to Elena that she was supposed to be jealous now, she wasn't just the tag-along friend tonight she was his date. She shot the hostess a violent look and moved closer to Damon. For his part, he was completely unaware of the push-and-pull between Elena and the hostess but when he felt her move closer to him he released his arm from its previous position and wrapped it around her waist. The hostess must have gotten the hint, and Elena smirked at her crestfallen expression. She led the couple to their table without incidence. It was a perfect spot, somewhat in the corner where it was quieter and the lights were a little lower. Every table had a little candle in the center and the light from the small flame danced in Damon's eyes as he watched Elena purse her lips and scan the menu. _Such full, soft lips_ he thought to himself, _holy shit… I'm on a date with Elena. An actual date. _He ordered a whole bottle of wine on impulse to try and calm his nerves.

"An entire bottle?" Elena asked, "Am I going to be driving home?"

"No ma'am," he shook his head, "you're not getting into Carmen's driver's seat that easily missy."

When the sommelier brought the bottle over he poured a small sample into a glass and handed it to Damon for approval. After tasting it, Damon nodded and the waiter left the bottle at their table. Despite the whiskey-swilling rakish front he usually put on, he knew his etiquette. While she loved regular Damon, this smooth, suave Damon was thoroughly enticing, too.

"What?" he asked when he saw her scrutinizing him.

"I never took for a oenophile."

"I'm not, but after years of those awful Founder's events you learn a little. Why are you still smiling like that?"

"It's just weird, after all this time, I'm still learning things about you."

"There's a lot about you don't know," he wiggled his eyebrows.

"I look forward to finding out," she said in a husky tone. _Oh my god_, she thought, _did I just say that? What did Caroline put in my Dr. Pepper?!_ The shock in his face quickly morphed to beguiling smile.

"So do I Lena, so do I."

Dinner exceeded their expectations; Elena hadn't had Thai food since going to Seattle with Damon for her interview at the _Times_. Although she couldn't put her finger on it, Damon had been acting strangely from the moment she met him at the door. First of all he knocked, and he _never_ knocks, that's the whole point of him having a key. She tried to convince herself that it was just another one of his typical mood swings, but _something_ was just… different about him. She thought to herself that Damon had seemed flirtier than usual, but just chalked it up to the bottle of wine they'd had. He had also completely ignored the gorgeous waitress who was shamelessly trying to catch his attention, when he'd usually be actively trying to enroll her in his bed buddy registry. Every time she looked up at him he glanced away awkwardly, making it look like he hadn't been staring at her.

"Is everything ok with you?" she finally asked nonchalantly spinning her wine glass.

"Peachy, why do you ask?" he responded, trying to make it look like he hadn't been caught staring at her… again.

"Nothing, you just seem quieter than usual. I figured you would have had Heidi's number by now," Elena said with a smile.

"Who's Heidi?" he asked, looking confused.

"The waitress who has been fawning over you."

"Oh," he looked around the restaurant and shrugged when he saw her, "meh, she's not my type."

"She's female and willing, how is that not your type?" Elena laughed.

"I'm insulted Elena, I have standards," Damon put his hand over his heart, "you really think so low of me?" He tried hard to make it seem like he was joking around, but he couldn't deny that he was a little hurt that she thought that way of him. That was exactly what he _didn't_ want.

"My apologies, you know that I don't" Elena said sincerely, patting his hand from across the table. "So, enlighten me, what is your type then?"

"I don't know," _Lie_. "I haven't really thought much about it," _Lie_. "I guess it'd be kind of hard to explain," _Lie, lie, lie!_ "What about you?"

"What _about_ me?"

"What is your type?" he wasn't sure if he wanted the answer, since he suspected he wouldn't fit the criteria. Being the glutton for punishment he was, he felt like he had to know.

She just smiled with a small laugh and shrugged her shoulders.

"Come on Lena, I want to know, what do you want? Bad boy? Knight in shining armor? Brooding poet?" _Loveable, good-looking best friend who happens to adore you?_

"I guess it would be someone like… never mind. I don't really want to talk about this," she said blushing furiously.

"There's a someone huh?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. He was pretty sure that if she had someone in her life filling that role he would have met him— then promptly killed him and hid the body in the woods. "Elena, you've been holding out on me?"

"No," she said quickly, "there isn't a _someone_."

"Now I'm intrigued," he said setting his silverware down and looking at her. "Come on, we both know I'm going to win this and get it out of you, so just cut to the chase and tell me Lena."

"Fine," she said mirroring his actions and looking back at him, she knew exactly what she wanted but she didn't know how to tell the man across from the table from her that her dream guy was wrapped in a decidedly Damon-shaped package. "I want the kind of love you read about in books," hoping that would sate his curiosity.

"We don't read the same books, so you're going to have to explain it to me."

"Ugh, Damon, come on, I told you what you wanted to know," she could feel her face heating up and her palms sweating. She couldn't trust herself not to divulge her biggest secret if he kept egging her on.

"No you didn't," he said simply, not taking his eyes off of her. He could sense that she was uncomfortable and holding something back, which just made him want to push her even more.

"Yes. I did," she huffed, and was getting frustrated with his insistence, "what kind of love do you think would be worth writing about and reading hundreds of years later?"

"The kind with lots of hot sex," he knew that would push her buttons.

"No! Well I mean… yeah, I guess… probably… b-but that's not the point!" she stuttered, losing her composure. "It's passionate, adventurous, consuming, and unconditional. It's the kind of love that changes and completes a person, like finding your other half. Where you trust someone so much that you give them your whole heart and soul," her voice was trailing off dreamily. "But it's ok because I know that he would never hurt me. He knows how to make me laugh, and all of my favorite things. He's sweet and clever and he has this smile that is just so _him_ and the most amazing blue…" she stopped abruptly when she realized how close she was to giving herself away.

"Blue what?" Damon prodded, hanging onto her every word.

"I didn't say 'blue,' I said… 'true,' like he has the most amazing true… heart," she stuttered.

"Eh, you definitely said 'blue,'" he wagged an accusing finger in her direction.

"No I didn't," she defended herself awkwardly, "why would I care what color his eyes were?" _Crap, just stop while you're ahead Elena_, she was mentally chiding herself, "or what color anything else was. I'm not that shallow to include that on my list of good qualities."

"If you say so," he said with a self-satisfied grin, "now, was that so hard?"

"Cheeky bastard," she muttered under her breath.

"For the record Lena, it sure sounds like there's already someone."

"There. Is. Not. A. Someone," she said flintily, gritting her teeth to stop herself from screaming, "yeah, it's you!" at him.

"If you say so," he said skeptically, holding up his hand in surrender.

"Just for that, I'm getting my own dessert," she tried to seem stern, but it was impossible to be mad at him. "And you need to get the chocolate cake, because I want some."

"My girl wants chocolate cake, she gets chocolate cake," he said, flagging down one of the waitresses.

The rest of their dinner was peppered with casual talk about Elena's projects at work and friendly banter. Damon's awkwardness from earlier seemed to vanish, and Elena thought for a moment that she had imagined it all. He kept replaying her words in his mind; he could be all of those things she wanted. Hell! He already was all of those things, at least for his part. He was glad he asked, it made him feel much more confident about what he was going to tell her. At least he knew he wasn't totally off base.

It was cold and raining when they left the restaurant so Damon wrapped his jacket around Elena's bare shoulders and offered to bring the car around to the veranda so she wouldn't get her new dress wet. She had always loved that he was such a gentleman, at least with her. He ran his hands up and down her coat covered arms and looked at her with concern.

"Are you sure you're warm enough? You can wait inside and I'll come get you."

"I'm fine Damon," she smiled, "I'm not going to dissolve in a little bit of rain."

"Ok, I'll turn the heater on," he swooped down to kiss her cheek and sauntered out to the parking lot to get his car.

Elena watched after him, smiling and thinking about all of the women who gave her the evil eye inside because she was with him. That was definitely a feeling she could get used to. As she was waiting a man came up and started to chat with her. He was well dressed and handsome, but he surely wasn't Damon.

"Beautiful night, huh?" he said, laughing at his own joke.

"It is, in its own way," she answered back, obviously disinterested. _The most beautiful night, ever!_

"So what is a gorgeous woman like yourself doing out here alone?" he tried to engage her again.

"I'm waiting for my friend," she was hoping Damon would get back soon.

"Would your friend mind if you and I had a quick drink back inside?" he asked. The fact that the stranger looked her up and down like he was assessing a new car hadn't escaped her notice.

"I think he would," she pulled Damon's jacket closer around her trying to hide from the man who was now making her slightly uncomfortable.

"It wouldn't take long," he drawled, "you're all dressed up, a little early to call it a night anyways, huh?"

"We're actually on our way out, but thank you." She heard the sound of Damon's car and the slam of the door. _This should be interesting_, she thought to herself and threw the stranger a small smile of pity. Damon had a jealous streak a mile wide and could put the cattiest high school Queen Bee to shame with his snarkiness.

"Ready to go _honey_?" Damon growled, putting an arm around her waist and drawing her close to him. He didn't care who this guy was or what he was doing, but he knew he wanted to rip his throat out for the way he was looking at his girl. Her breathe caught in her throat when she saw him, he had tiny raindrops in his hair and his eyes were glittering with ferocity. He looked like a panther poised for the attack, and it made her a bit faint to see him so switched on, so sexy and it was all for her.

"Sure am," Elena said giving him a dazzling smile and wiggling closer in his embrace. She was going to take advantage of his possessiveness while is lasted.

"Did you tip the doorman?" Damon asked, looking at the man who had been trying to pick Elena up.

"I'm not the doorman," the man prickled, insulted at Damon's insinuation.

"Oh, apologies," Damon said insincerely, "I didn't think anyone would stand out in the rain and talk to women who are obviously spoken for unless it was their job. I guess desperation works too." Damon moved his hand to the small of Elena's back to lead her to the car.

"Goodnight," she said to the man who has been talking to her.

"Goodnight," Damon smiled fakely, "doorman."

"Do you know that guy?" Damon asked once they were in the car, trying not to seem jealous. Besides, it wasn't jealousy so much as the atavistic urge to snap the guy's neck.

"Nope, just some guy I guess," Elena responded casually, basking in the fact that he was jealous of someone else. Realistically, Damon had nothing to be jealous of _anyone_ for so she had no idea why a brief exchange with a stranger had him so ruffled.

"Yeah, some guy who was _clearly_ hitting on you," he scoffed. "Who does that, anyways? It's pretty obvious you are with someone. His technique is all wrong. What a douche bag."

Elena giggled to herself quietly, but Damon still heard her.

"What's so funny?"

"You've got quite a judgment on that guy for a 10 second interaction."

"I'm a guy, Lena. I know when another guy is just prowling and being a creeper and when he's being an upstanding gentleman. That guy: creeper."

"I believe you, you're just funny when you're worked up," she was laughing heartily now. "You haven't gotten this mad since you lost that bottle of scotch to Ric on poker night."

"Whoa, whoa, back up. A. that was an 18-year-old bottle of Laphroaig single malt, B. Ric cheated, and C. I'm not worked up."

"A. you're a snob, B. you were the one who Googled card counting before you went to Vegas, and C. you _so_ are worked up. You have your stern Damon face," she listed her reply, clearly amused.

"My 'stern Damon' face? What does that one look like?"

"Mhmm, it's a lot like your broody Stefan impression." He had to hand it to her, he really was brooding like his younger brother and she called him out on it.

"Yeah, well I don't like other guys chatting up my girl when we're out. Especially not when they're eyeing you like a piece of meat," he growled, which just made Elena laugh harder.

"Well thank you for defending my virtue Sir Damon," she said between chuckles. "I just tweeted the Lady of the Lake to get on the ball about your sword." Her laughter and happiness were contagious, and he soon found himself laughing along with her.

"You're sassy tonight, Lena. It's good to see you laugh," he said after a few moments, appraising her affectionately.

"What can I say? You know how to show a girl a good time."

Elena had planned on staying at the boarding house for the night. Jenna and Ric were having their own date night at Elena's house since Jenna was still in the process of moving in with her before she got married and she wanted to give them privacy. She missed spending the night at the old house anyways. Damon's mother had basically given her her own room there when they were kids, and staying there reminded her of happier times. She loved the antiques, dark wood floors, and endless hallways of the house. She thought back to all of the times that she, Damon, Stefan, and Jeremy had chased each other around and pretended that the house was a castle.

"Do you remember when Stefan broke his wrist falling down the stairs?" Elena asked.

"Which time?" Damon asked with a snort. Stefan's clumsiness had become a running joke at the Salvatore house and he took it all in stride. One year the Salvatores had their Christmas card made with one of Stefan's countless x-rays on the front and inside the card it said: _Every time Stefan breaks something, another angel gets their wings_.

"When you made him and Jeremy be my servants."

"Squires. They were being jackasses and he deserved it."

"Damon! He fell down two flights of stairs!"

"But they still did what I told them to," Damon winked proudly. "Besides, he got that really hot nurse to put his cast on."

"He was seven years old!"

"Salvatore men are studs, regardless of age. She signed his cast with a heart. He was convinced that he was going to marry her. Besides, at the end of the day everyone knew who had the best castle."

"And who was that?"

"We did," he said with a twinkle in his eyes.

_Flashback_

"Haha, Elena doesn't have a castle!" Jeremy sneered at his younger sister.

"You're the only one who doesn't have a castle," Stefan joined in, following Jeremy's lead. "You're going to get eaten by a dragon."

"You can't take my castle, that's against the rules," Elena said, stomping her little foot ferociously. "You have to give me the parlor back Jeremy, that's not fair."

"Make me," her older brother said, "you're too small to have your own castle Lennie, and you're a girl."

"So, I can still have my own castle, but you took it from me. I'm going to tell Damon!"

"So what? Damon already has a castle, he isn't gonna care that _you_ don't have yours anymore." Stefan said. He was only a few months older than Elena, but it still made her the youngest of the four and the easiest target. She started to cry and pull at the hem of her dress.

"Look at Elena, she's a little cry baby!" Jeremy hollered, tugging on Elena's ponytail. Elena bolted out of the parlor and up to the attic where Damon was looking through old trunks trying to find things to play with. He looked up and saw Elena crying.

"Jeremy and Stefan took my castle, Damon, and then they told me I couldn't have one because I'm a girl and then they called a cry baby and then Jeremy pulled my hair," she cried harder, wiping her eyes with her tiny fists.

"You're not a cry baby Lena, they're just being stupid."

"It's not fair Damon, I had the parlor and Jeremy took it from me. It's not fair," she pouted, crossing her arms. "Now I don't have a castle."

"Well you don't need a castle, you can be the Queen of my castle now. My castle is the best one in the whole house anyways." He might have only been ten years old, but he still hated seeing Elena cry.

"Ok," she said, pulling up her dress to wipe her nose in a very un-ladylike fashion. "Thank you."

"You're welcome Lena," Damon said with a smile, "pick out a Queen outfit. I'm going to ask my mom for some cookies. I'll be right back." Damon stomped down the steps to the parlor where Jeremy and Stefan were building a little Lego village.

"Elena wanted this for her castle," Damon said crossing his arms and shooting daggers at the two boys. "You didn't have to be mean to her."

"She's a girl, she can't have a castle," Jeremy dismissed Damon.

"Well now she's the Queen of my castle, which is a million times better than your castles."

"Ooo, Damon and Elena sitting in a tree," Stefan began to sing, making Jeremy laugh hysterically. "K-I-S-S-I-N-G!"

"Shut up Stefan, you guys don't have to be mean to her. You have to take Elena her snacks. Now."

"You're not the boss of us Damon. You can't tell us what to do," Jeremy stood up and walked over to Damon. He was the same age, but slightly shorter than the elder Salvatore. "What? Do you want to marry Elena?"

"If you don't take her snacks to her I'm going to tell your mom about how you always trade your sandwich for pudding. Then she'll make you buy your lunch and stand in line with the dorks." Damon had perfected the bully routine on his brother and he knew that Jeremy wouldn't want to get in trouble with his parents. Jeremy narrowed his eyes angrily at Damon. "And then I'll tell Anna that you cried when they turned off the lights at the planetarium because you're afraid still of the dark and Mrs. Tanner had to sit next to you."

"Fine we'll take stupid Elena her stupid snacks, come on Stefan." Stefan trotted into the kitchen behind Jeremy and they gathered some cookies on a plate and got two juice boxes from the refrigerator. Damon followed them upstairs, where Elena had found a big, feathered hat and a string of antique pearls as her royal regalia. Even as a shy six-year old Damon thought she was beautiful.

"Jeremy and Stefan are going to be your personal squires for today Elena," Damon announced. "They brought you your snacks and you can make them get you whatever else you want." Damon poked Stefan violently in the back to urge him forward and give Elena her cookies.

"Ew Damon, I don't want to touch her. She has cooties!" Stefan yelped.

"No, I don't," Elena sniffled, her bottom lip trembling and tears threatening to fall from her eyes again.

"It's true, Tyler said all girls have cooties," Jeremy corroborated Stefan's concern. "And if you catch them you could die."

"Elena doesn't have cooties!" Damon shouted, stepping around the two boys to stand next to her.

"Prove it!" Jeremy challenged.

"Fine," Damon huffed, he leaned in and kissed Elena lightly on the lips.

"Ew, that's so gross," Stefan grimaced.

"Now Damon has cooties, too! Damon has girl cooties!" Jeremy exclaimed. The two boys ran away down the stairs shouting about how Damon was going to die of girl cooties from kissing Elena.

"You're not going to die are you Damon?" Elena asked, tears running down her face again at the thought of Damon dying from something as painful and protracted as cooties.

"No, cooties aren't real Lena," Damon smiled.

"Not even boy cooties?" she asked shyly.

"All cooties are made up," he nodded. Elena shoulders sagged in relief, Caroline was always talking about boy cooties and she thought she was going to catch them from Damon and not be able to go on the field trip to the zoo. Damon put the straw in one the juice boxes and handed it to Elena and pushed the plate of cookies to her.

"Sorry for kissing you, you really won't get sick."

"It's ok," she said smiling widely. "I don't mind."

_Present_

"I'll never forget how relieved you were to find out that cooties weren't real," Damon howled with laughter.

"Whaaat?" she slapped his shoulder, "I really wanted to see the penguins at the zoo. It was a big week, penguins and my first kiss."

"I didn't get any penguins," Damon pouted.

"That was your first kiss?" Elena looked shocked.

"I was ten Elena, it's not like I was a nano player. I had only found out that cooties were fake a week before that. I wasn't going to take the risk."

Damon suddenly got very quietly when they turned onto the road leading up the hill to the boarding house. He put the car in park in the driveway and undid his seat belt without saying a word. He sat silently, looking out the windscreen and cracking his knuckles.

"Is something the matter, Damon?" Elena asked lightly putting her hand on his arm. He had been so sure of himself earlier, but now he was rethinking his plan. Maybe they could just have a drink, watch a movie, and he could do this some other time.

"There's something that I have to tell you and I don't know how you're going react," he began cautiously, trying to keep his nerve.

"Ok… that's not ominous at all," she was starting to get a little worried. "Just tell me whatever it is, I can handle it."

"I've wanted to tell you this for so long. I can't lose you, I need for you to know that. If you don't like it we can just forget it ever happened, but you need to hear it, just once."

"I'm not going anywhere Damon so just spit it out. You're starting to scare me." A million thoughts were running through her mind: _was he leaving? Was he sick? Was he getting serious with someone? What if he was engaged? Or engaged to be engaged? Or engaged to find the woman he would be engaged to be engaged to? Oh no, no, no, this wasn't going to be good._

He took a deep breath and turned towards her. "Elena," he said quietly taking her hands in his and softly rubbing his thumb over he knuckles. He paused for a second to reassure himself and met her eyes with an intense gaze, "I…" he choked slightly, his eyes full of emotion, "I love you."

"I love you too, Damon, but you need to tell me what's going on," she demanded, squeezing his hands a little tighter.

"That's just it. I am _in_ love with you."

"What?" she couldn't believe her ears. Somewhere there was an alternate universe where her dreams had seeped into reality and she was in that universe. Shock and shock would be the two words she would have used to describe how she felt at that moment. She had thought of all the things she would say if this moment ever came around, but her mind was completely blank and all she could do was stare back at him.

"I am in love with you. I have been for years." He figured that since he was this far, he might as well go the whole way and tell her everything, "the last few months have been torture watching what you're going through. I don't want you to feel alone, ever. I want to be there for you, every night and every day so you never feel like that again. I want to be with you and be all those things you said you want. If you would give me…"

"Damon, stop," she interrupted as soon as she regained control of her voice She pulled their joined hands closer to her chest.

"If you would just give me a chance…" he tried finishing his previous sentence.

"Just stop talking," Elena said more forcefully, putting her finger over his lips, "I love you."

"You do?" he asked, his blue eyes burning with hope. He had been so prepared for the _can't we be friends_ speech that he hadn't truly listened to her.

She held his face gently in her hands and looked into his eyes, "I do. So much."

"Really?"

"Really."

"So I was right, there is a someone," he smirked.

"Damon, really, stop talking," she smiled as she leaned in to kiss him. He kissed her back with all of the love and passion he had suppressed for years. He kissed her the way he had always wanted to. What had started out as a chaste kiss turned into a fiery make out session. He pulled her onto his lap and she happily acquiesced. He pulled out the clip that was holding her chignon together and tangled his fingers in her hair, giving it a light tug to reveal the slender column of her neck. She grasped the lapels of his collar tightly, pulling him closer to her and he pushed her gently across the bench seat and settled on top of her, never removing his lips from her skin. Distracted by her soft moans and sighs he had allowed himself to get caught up in the moment and completely forgot that they were still in his car. Any other woman he would have been more than happy to just pull them in the backseat and drop them off at home after, but he wanted his first time with Elena to be special and memorable. She was the kind of girl who wanted to be romanced and swept off of her feet, and he felt the strange urge to be the one to do so.

"Will you stay with me tonight?" he asked scarcely louder than a whisper.

"Yes," she said softly with a nod. He leant in for one last kiss before helping her out of the car and up the stairs to the porch. He couldn't resist the pull she had on him and he grabbed her waist and pulled her against him to seek out her lips again. She was like a drug to him, and he could see himself getting hooked on her very quickly. She moaned softly against his lips and he cursed under his breath, gently tugging her hair to give him better access to plunder her mouth. Kissing had always been a means to an end for him, he didn't hate it but he didn't take any remarkable pleasure from it either, but kissing Elena was completely different. One touch from her lips and his entire body was set aflame. He felt her touch on every nerve and her little moans and sighs hotwired his desire for her. He shivered when she ran her hands down his chest, an honest to goodness shiver. When she shifted and brushed her hips against his he was almost certain he was going to die. His molten blood spread fire to every inch of skin, and he knew he had to have all of her. He had never been so turned on before, not even in the middle of sex.

The front door to the boarding house burst open and they stumbled through it together, a tangle of limbs. He figured they'd be safe since Stefan wasn't due back from New York for another day or two. Damon slammed the door shut with a kick and backed Elena against it. When her back made contact with the cool wood of the heavy door she gasped, breaking their kiss. He moved to trail hot kisses down her neck as his hands hungrily roamed her sides and down her back. Her heart was beating frantically and he could feel it as he kissed along her pulse point. He paused for a moment to relish the way she was trembling under his ministrations. When he reached the hem of her dress he slipped his hand underneath, his touch searing her already-burning skin.

"Wait, stop," she breathed heavily, "I don't… I don't know what to do."

"About what?" Damon mumbled, kissing the soft skin behind her ear and moving his hand farther up her thigh.

"Damon, stop," she said a little more firmly pushing back against his shoulders so there was a small distance between them. Being separated from her felt like getting an injection ice water straight into his veins. "I just don't know how to do this," suddenly feeling embarrassed about her lack of experience, "I want to, I really do, but I've just never, you know, done… _this_," she indicated by motioning between them. She wanted to go back to kissing him, and forget she brought it up. Maybe they wouldn't get that far tonight and she wouldn't have to worry about. _Who am I kidding? We are so past being "that far"_ she thought.

"What?" Damon breathed in disbelief. Then it hit him: Elena was still a virgin. He'd done such a great job of chasing off boyfriends over the years that Elena had never been intimate with anyone. How this beautiful, sweet, sexy girl was still untouched both thrilled and confused him. The primal side of him reeled with the knowledge that, if he played his cards right, he would be the only one to every have her, that she would be completely his and his alone. The rational side of him felt guilty that he couldn't give Elena the same thing in return, but even though she wasn't his only he wanted her to be his last. She looked away from him so he lifted her chin to look into her eyes and she nodded slightly, indicating that his suspicion was correct.

"Oh Elena," he murmured quietly in reverence and kissed her passionately, pouring all of his love and devotion to her into his kiss, hoping she could feel it. "You're sure this is what you want? With me?" He tried his best to cover up the insecurity in his voice, but somewhere deep down he was afraid she would re-think her decision and walk right out of his house. He loved and respected her enough to give her an out, but he prayed she wouldn't use it. If she walked out on him now he'd have to take a vow of celibacy because he would never experience anything that came close to how he felt with Elena. Everything after this would be a let down.

"It's only ever been you, Damon." When she met his eyes she saw that they were glistening with unshed tears and happiness. She had never seen him stripped down like this before, and she suddenly felt a surge of responsibility to protect him and guard his heart. She had broken down the last wall he had built to protect himself.

"God, I love you so much," he said, his voice raw from everything he felt for her and it shook her to her core. Everything she had fantasized about and all of the romantic musings she had longed to hear from his lips vanished with those six little words. She had never heard anything more beautiful in her life.

"I love you, too," she replied, her response sounding terribly inadequate to her own ears.

"Come on," he said, gently taking her hand and leading her towards the stairs. She was confused, one minute he was ravishing her in the foyer and the next he was playing the chaste white knight. Maybe it was too much pressure and he had changed his mind. He could see the confusion and hurt written across her face. He moved closer to her and took her face in his hands. "Elena, I'm not going to fuck you against the front door, not your first time. I know how important this is to you and it's important to me too. I want to love you properly," he said, kissing her lightly and scooping her up in his arms to carry her to his bedroom.

When they entered his room he set her gently on the rug by his imposing four-poster bed and turned to close the door. It was completely dark but he clicked on a small lamp on the nightstand and stood directly before her, taking everything in. He held her hands to his lips and kissed each of her fingers softly before lowering them the rest against his chest. He cupped her cheeks in his hands and brushed his thumb over her lips, as if trying to memorize every detail of her face. She leaned in to kiss him and he pulled her flush to his front, holding her tenderly. She felt his fingers toying with the zipper pull on the back of her dress and she shivered as the soft fabric brushed over her skin, pooling on the floor at her feet leaving her standing before him in only her black lacy lingerie. _Include tickets to Tahiti with Caroline's Mercedes_, he thought to himself as he stared at Elena. She squirmed slightly and shifted her arms in front of her uncomfortably, blushing a deep shade of scarlet.

"Don't, you're so beautiful Elena," he said with admiration, pulling her arms away from where they were clamped across her torso. "I love it when you blush," he added with an affectionate smile, caressing her cheek. She moved her hands to his shirt and looked down to concentrate on undoing the buttons. He nuzzled his nose into her hair and moved his hands up and down her back until she reached the last button and pushed the shirt off of his broad, muscular shoulders. Elena shyly put her hands on his chest, taking in how amazing his body truly was. She traced the ridges and valleys of his muscles with shy fingers, watching the way they rippled and drew taught under her touch. He groaned softly when he fingers met the waistband of his pants. Once again he caught her lips with a passionate kiss, tangling his hands in her hair he tilted her head to deepen the kiss. When she moaned he flicked his tongue across her bottom lip. She responded by opening her mouth and granting him access. Her lips tasted like wine and cherry vanilla lip-gloss and he couldn't get enough, he didn't think he would ever get enough. He couldn't believe that he was finally kissing her and touching her the way he'd only dreamed about before. Her soft moans had him uncomfortably hard. One hand disengaged from her long brown locks and moved to unclasp her bra, letting it fall and join her dress on the floor.

The feeling of his skin on hers was delicious and she wanted more. She pulled him back with her until she felt the back of her knees collide with the edge of his bed. He laid her down gently and lovingly, being careful not to crush her with his own weight. He kissed down her neck, across her collarbones and down to her breasts. He took a pebbled nipple in his lips earning a hiss from Elena as she arched her back against him. She wove her fingers through his hair and lightly massaged her scalp her nails. He continued his descent to her flat stomach. When he reached the top of her panties he hooked his fingers in the sides and pulled them down her long legs. He was speechless at the sight of her completely exposed before him. She was truly beautiful. He had imagined her like this so many times but not even his wildest fantasies could measure up. He kissed her lightly while she worked to undo his belt and the fly of his pants; he helped her by kicking off his pants and boxers with perhaps a little too much enthusiasm. Any other night he would have taken it slow and wrung every drop of pleasure from her until she dropped from exhaustion, but tonight he wasn't going to be able to hold it together for that long. He wanted her more than he had ever wanted anything or anyone, and had done for years.

When she caught sight of his prominent arousal she was worried, she knew the first time was uncomfortable but this was going to hurt, she was sure of it. She was trying to remember back to all of the things that she, Caroline, and Bonnie had read in _Cosmo_. He must have seen her furrowed brow in the dim light because he stopped to ask if she was still sure of what she wanted.

"I'm sure," she replied, "just go slow, ok?" She trusted him implicitly, and there was no one else she would have rather been sharing this moment with.

"Of course." He moved his hand down to her thighs and up to her core, gently stroking her and making her writhe beneath him. He carefully slid one finger inside of her, pumping gently in and out. He added a second one and he could already feel her walls stretching to accommodate the intrusion. If there was one thing Damon was good at, it was seduction. "You have no idea how many times I've thought about this." He said with a husky voice she found undeniably sexy, he wanted to make her understand that she was it for him, that this wasn't just going to be sex but something transcendent. She could feel her face flushing and she was sure that she was trembling all over. "About you and me," he continued gently tracing the shell of her ear with his lips. "How badly I've wanted you for so long. To have you underneath me, to get lost in you, hear you scream my name." He could feel the thin sheen of sweat begin to bead up across her chest and he felt a surge of masculine pride that he was the only one who would ever see her like this. "You're so wet for me, Elena. Tell me you want this, tell me how much you want me."

"I do, I want you, Damon," she told him with her voice shaking, she was ridiculously turned on and she felt like she would combust if she didn't have more of him. "God, I want you so badly."

"Look at me Lena," she tried to look him straight in the eyes, but she was so overwhelmed with the intensity of his gaze. "Look at me baby," he asked again bringing his forehead to rest against hers, "I love you."

"I love you, too," with that he moved to position himself at her entrance and began to push inside of her. She winced at first and she could see that he was alarmed.

"Does that hurt?"

"No," she squeaked as he pressed more deeply. A single tear escaped the corner of eye and he caught it with his lips, gently kissing her to try to ease her discomfort. The sharp pain she was felt immediately melted away, yielding to a feeling that she had never experienced before, it was the feeling of wholeness, belonging, and unadulterated pleasure all rolled into one. The butterflies in her stomach fluttered again at the foreignness of the sensation enveloping her. They fluttered violently against the cage of her abdomen and were released throughout her body, sending tingling sensations to the tips and her fingers and her toes.

"Fuck, you're so tight Elena," he moaned when he was fully seated within her, dropping his head into the curve of her neck to try to concentrate. The flood of sensations was new to him, too, even as experienced as he was. He had never been with someone he loved before and that alone heightened everything he felt. He didn't want to lose control of himself like a fumbling teenager and leave Elena unsatisfied with her first sexual experience. He wanted to leave her craving more in a good way.

"Are you ok?" she felt silly for asking, but it was the only thing that came to her mind and she felt the need to fill the silence.

"So good," he groaned against her shoulder, trying to keep himself under control and fight the urge to ravish this goddess of a woman. He rocked his hips slightly against hers, earning a moan from Elena. He did it again with a little more force and felt her pull at his hair. "Does that hurt?"

"No," she managed, every inch of flesh felt like it was alight and every time he moved she felt another wave of pleasure wash over her.

"God, Damon, harder," she rasped, arching her back into him. The tenuous thread by which he had managed to wrangle his self-control snapped at her request. He couldn't hold back every desire he'd ever had to wholly possess Elena. He crashed his lips onto hers and thrust into her in a frenzied rhythm. He pinned her wrists to the pillow above her head with one hand and massaged her breasts with the other. He trailed kisses to her neck, nibbling lightly at her pulse point, and delighting in her cries of bliss. He knew he was being a little rough, but was still careful not to hurt her and if her mewls were any indication she was enjoying it. He released her wrists and she wrapped her arms around his shoulders, digging her nails into the muscles of his back.

"Cum with me Elena," he asked and moved his hand between their sweat-slicked bodies to massage her swollen bud. Stars exploded behind her eyes and everything went dark for a split second. She felt like she was untethered and floating through space. She cried out his name like an invocation and clung to him to ride out her convulsions. Hearing his name fall from her lips in ecstasy pushed him to his climax. He thrust into her a final time and followed with his own release. He dropped his head back to her shoulder and held himself up on shaky elbows for several moments before pulling out of her and collapsing to her side. She missed him instantaneously and felt incomplete without him. She felt his strong arms wrap around her and pull her close to his body.

"Wow," was all he could manage between catching his breath and trying to stop the room from spinning. "That was… wow." He felt Elena's shoulders shake slightly with a quiet laughter.

"Damon Salvatore rendered speechless," she giggled between breaths.

"Yeah, I'm losing my touch, I guess."

"Oh, I think your touch is just fine."

"Lena, you little coquette," he said pulling her on top of him to kiss her, "I'm going to have to take you again if you keep that up."

"Mhmm," she replied kissing him with a smile and snuggling close to him with her head on his chest.

"Thank you," he said plainly.

"For what?"

"For sharing this with me. For thinking I'm worthy of being your first," he said somewhat shyly. "For loving me."

Elena shifted to look into his eyes and brushed a stray lock of black hair from his forehead. "Stop saying things like that, Damon. I wish you could see what I see."

He kissed her softly, meaning to be gentle. Like their kiss on the porch, the passion built up quickly and he had her underneath him again. Elena knew she'd be late for work tomorrow, because she wasn't going to be getting any sleep tonight.

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**A/N: They finally got together, and it didn't take 4 seasons! Next up: the morning after, defining the relationship, another flashback, and more. Stay tuned...**


	4. Chapter 4: Falling Not So Slowly

_Wow, you guys are amazing! I've gotten such great response so far *tear* I'll keep trying to update frequently, like I said, I have a lot already written so I'm just going through and proof-reading them. I have two final exams this week, so I may be a _little_ slow._

_callie: I'm glad you liked it! _

_AlyssaIanSomerhalder: Thank you! Three cheers for D/E!_

_noobishere: New update :) More sweetness (and hotness) ahead!_

_Guest: Thank you!_

_S05Y31: Thank you for reading and your kind words! I hope this update doesn't disappoint :)_

_Alice: Thank you! I hope you enjoy chapter 4 :)_

_Guest: Thanks :) Here's some more for you!_

_Jen: I can't help but think what an adorable gentleman little Damon would have been._

_Angelfan984- We all need hot, breakfast bringing friends- let's place a group order ;) I was thinking about Elena's first Miss Mystic dress. Hope you enjoy the morning after._

_Barbara SGB- Thank you again! Hope you enjoy this chapter :)_

_CharlSmith- Thank you for your kind words :D_

_Abgypig84- Thank you! I hope you like Damon in this chapter ;)_

_CosmicButton- Thanks so much! Here's a nice long chapter for you!_

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The December sun was coming through a tiny gap in the curtains and fell across the room in a triangular swath of gold and warmth. Damon stirred slightly, not wanting to wake up from the incredibly realistic dream he was having about Elena. He groaned and rolled away from the light, colliding with a small sleeping figure in his bed. He slowly opened his eyes to see Elena sleeping soundly next to him, her chestnut hair was splayed across the crisp white pillow. She had the black duvet tucked up closely around her chin sheltering her naked body from the cold, but it fell away at her shoulders, revealing her smooth back. He propped himself up on one elbow and stared at her for a moment before reaching out and tracing his fingers lightly across her shoulders and down the elegant curve of her spine. Fields of goose bumps followed the path of his fingers. Damon smiled and wrapped his arms around her, _so it wasn't a dream after all_. He pulled her close so that her back was tight to his chest, reveling in how well she fit with him. She was his missing piece and he knew that for certain now.

"Mmm, good morning," Elena peeped in a small drowsy voice, snuggling deeper into Damon's arms.

"Great morning," he replied, kissing her shoulder. She rolled over to face him. She was worried this was going to be awkward and uncomfortable, given what happened last night but it felt like the most natural thing in the world. He was twirling the ends of her hair around his fingertips with a small smile, and not his usual cocky, sarcastic smile.

"What's that face?" she questioned, running her thumb along his jaw.

"What face?" he asked, wrinkling his brows slightly and wearing the exact smile she was asking about.

"That face," she pointed out.

"I'm happy," he answered simply. He was beautiful like this, when he was completely unguarded. The way he looked at her had the butterflies bouncing in her stomach again. She leaned in and pecked him lightly on the lips.

"Me too," she tried to show him how he made her feel with a bright smile. He pulled her against his chest and tucked her under his chin and she snuggled into him. He wrapped the blankets around them in a tight cocoon when he felt her shiver slightly.

"Did you sleep ok?" Damon realized that while he had shared Elena's bed many times she had never slept in his. He liked it though, and wouldn't mind waking up with her in his bed every day.

"Way better than ok, I like your room. I don't think I've been in here since you remodeled," she said rolling onto her back to examine the exposed beams of the ceiling. The room itself was dark and imposing much like Damon. It was furnished with handcrafted, dark wood and leather furniture. There were a few paintings on the walls and a stack of books by Damon's side of the bed, but nothing to indicate who the room's inhabitant was. The only personal item in the room was a picture in a wooden frame on the nightstand. It was of a slightly younger Elena in the passenger seat of Damon's car wearing big black sunglasses and a blue halter-top with her hair in a messy bun looking out the window. She smiled when she saw the towel in the corner of the picture. Damon nearly had a nervous breakdown over the idea of her sitting on Carmen's seat wet. He refused to unlock the door until he had the towel securely in place. "That's a horrible picture by the way. I have much better ones I can give you."

"What? I like that picture, I think you look gorgeous." Damon laughed in disbelief, tracing circles on her stomach.

"Ugh, I was still all salty and gross from _someone_ pushing me in the water," she said as she nudged him with her shoulder.

"I seem to remember _someone_ else whining for weeks about going on a road trip to the beach and then refusing to get in the water. But I still think you are beautiful, salty or not. And you kissed me on that trip… even if you don't remember correctly," he added with a wink.

"I did not kiss you," she said firmly as though they'd had this conversation before, because they had… many times. "I just didn't know how to do tequila shots."

_Flashback_

It was the spring break of Elena's senior year of college, Damon had finished his last set of classes over the summer and had moved back to Mystic Falls to help Stefan with things after the passing of their parents. Stefan had been corralled into the role of CEO for Salvatore Investment, LLC overnight when their father died. He had wanted to take over the company _eventually_, he definitely wasn't expecting to be left in charge at 22. Despite his complete lack of interest in anything related to the company, Damon helped where he could but could still see that Stefan was struggling. The younger Salvatore had earned the nickname "The Wolf," from his business colleagues in New York for his ruthless, take-no-prisoners approach to his competitors. In the boardroom he was a force of nature, but outside of work he was still the same quiet, shy, insecure Stefan that he ever was. He had a hard time reconciling his personal and professional lives and even though he never said so, he worried that the company would take over his entire life and he'd become their father. It hadn't taken much for Damon to talk Stefan into unplugging his Blackberry and hitting the road for a week, in fact, all it took was the mention of _Caroline Forbes_ and Stefan was packing his bags.

Damon spent the majority of the 3-hour drive to Durham trying to get Stefan to admit that he had a "thing" for Caroline, but Stefan was a steel trap. When they arrived at the off-campus loft apartment that Elena and Caroline shared Stefan was a nervous wreck.

"Stef," Damon said, waiting outside the car, "get out of the car."

"Um, yeah… I just… my phone fell between the seats," he was clearly trying to stall, "you go ahead, I'll catch up as soon as I find it."

"Have it your way, brother," Damon shrugged, "I'll send Caroline out to help you find it."

"Found it!" Stefan announced, awkwardly getting out the car and straightening his leather jacket. "The Wolf" he certainly was not.

Caroline had taken Damon's place in the apartment with Elena after he graduated, and most of the neighbors recognized him. Two girls wearing sorority sweatshirts passed the brothers on the sidewalk.

"Hi Damon," they purred in unison as the walked by.

"Ladies," Damon acknowledged with a smirk. "Old neighbors," he explained to Stefan with a small shrug.

"You're unbelievable," Stefan shook his head.

"What? Just being neighborly," Damon defended himself.

"None of my neighbors ever greet me like that."

"You probably never had a three-way with your neighbors during rush week," Damon countered.

"Ugh," Stefan grimaced, "I can't believe Elena still talks to you."

"Some girls just can't resist my good looks, my style and charm, my unflinching ability to listen to…" he raised his fist to rap on the door, but it flew open before he could knock. Elena stood in the doorway with a huge smile.

"I heard you two and Damon's ego coming from 3 blocks away," she grinned and leapt into Damon's arms. He spun her around in the hallway before setting her back on the ground with his arms still around her. "Hi," she said simply, he cheeks pink from smiling.

"Hi," he replied, with an equal grin. Elena realized that Stefan was waiting awkwardly beside them and pulled him into a hug.

"You survived Damon's driving," she giggled, "Caroline just had to run the post office, she'll be back soon." Stefan looked a little relieved, "come on, come in." She led them into the apartment and began chattering about how much fun they were going to have this week and that Caroline had some really great things planned. A few minutes later Caroline returned. She squealed when she saw Stefan and pulled him into a tight hug. He hugged her back and blushed when he offered her a mumbled greeting.

"So," the blonde announced, "the weather here sucks, so all my plans are wrecked. The only solution is to go to the beach."

"We're not going to the beach," Damon shook his head and stretched out on the couch to turn on the TV, "I've been stuck in the car with Bossy Pants and his backseat driving all morning, no more driving."

"Damoooooon," Caroline whined, "Come on! It's our last spring break ever! It's been raining here for like, eons! We have seasonal affective disorder."

"Seasonal affective disorder?" Damon asked, raising his eyebrow skeptically.

"Yeah, we haven't gotten enough sunshine," she persisted, "please Damon, please, please, please." Caroline begged, jumping up and down, hoping she could change his mind.

"Why can't we just go to the bars here?" he reasoned. Caroline shot Elena a look and motioned her head towards Damon, signaling her to say something.

"Can we please go to the beach, Damon" Elena asked, "I've wanted to go since Christmas."

"Fine," Damon rolled his eyes, "go pack your stuff."

Caroline and Elena winked at each other and ran to their rooms to back swimsuits and towels.

"At what point do you _officially_ become whipped?" Stefan laughed.

"Shut up Stef," he mumbled pulling out his phone to find directions for their trip. The girls re-emerged in record time with their beach bags packed and ready to go.

"Shotgun!" Stefan announced as the four of them were headed out to the car.

"Not a chance bro," Damon said, "you get the backseat with Blondie."

"Oh," Stefan blushed, "right, yeah… I'll sit with Caroline," he smiled shyly at the blonde girl.

While Damon was looking up destinations Elena and Caroline had snuck out the fire escape to his car and replaced every CD in the disc changer with Taylor Swift. When Damon started the car they thought he would change it immediately and grumble about the girls and their taste in music. However, when the radio came on Damon just turned it up and sang every word to "Picture to Burn," in a purposely-horrible off-key voice as loud as he could. Caroline was mortified and tried to cover Damon's mouth with her hands as they passed the fraternity houses along main campus, but he evaded her effort and just kept singing. Elena and Stefan were in hysterics, and she could feel tears running down her cheeks from laughing so hard.

"Payback's a bitch ladies," he smirked, switching to a classic rock station. "No more crappy girl music… Caroline."

"You're going to pay for that, Salvatore Uno," Caroline grumbled, crossing her arms and glancing over at Stefan, who was still laughing slightly.

Two hours later they had reached a small beach town where they planned to stay for the night. The main street had exactly what you would expect, a few surf shops, some motels, a bar, gift shops, and a gas station. They pulled into the first motel with a vacancy sign and got a room. The room was clean and had an ocean view, which was good enough for them. Caroline leapt on the bed closest to window.

"Dibs!" she jumped on the bed a few times, "Elena and I get this one."

"Looks like you get the floor, Stef," Damon said sprawling out on the other bed.

"Damon!" Elena chided, "you can't make him sleep on the floor."

"It's fine, I don't mind," Stefan said, ever the agreeable brother.

"No way," Elena said, flopping down next to Damon, "you and Caroline can take that one, and Damon and I will take this one." It seemed like the most logical, Stefan-friendly solution.

"_Capital _idea, Lena," Damon smirked, "you bunk with Blondie, Stef." He was the only one who knew about Stefan's crush on Caroline, and he loved to see his brother squirm.

"It's ok," Stefan said shyly, "I really am ok on the floor."

"Salvatore Dos!" Caroline said firmly, "The floor is disgusting. You are going to sleep in this bed, if I have to tie you here."

"Whoa, Stef," Damon said loudly, "Blondie wants to tie you to the bed. Lena, we should go and give them some privacy."

"That's not what I meant pervert," Caroline said throwing a pillow at Damon's head.

After dropping off their things they headed out to the bar in town. It was a small place but fairly crowded, given that it was spring break. They were lucky to find a table that had just been vacated and the girls slid into the booth on opposite sides. Damon and Stefan retreated to the bar and returned with a round of drinks. Stefan was uncomfortably quiet and laughing dutifully at everything Caroline said. Elena gave Damon a quizzical look and he just nodded his head.

"Elena and I are going to get another round," Damon announced suddenly and grabbed her hand to drag her to the bar.

"He likes Caroline?" she shouted over the music. "That's why you made him take the other bed?" Damon nodded with a devious grin. "That's so sweet, you being Match Maker for Stefan," she said playfully bumping his shoulder. When they returned to the table with another round of drinks Caroline was reading Stefan's palm and he was listening to her enraptured with her explanation. After a third round of drinks everyone, except Damon, was feeling a little tipsy, but especially Elena who never drank much during the school year.

"You guys," Elena shouted, "you guys, we should get shots!"

"Yeah, shots!" Caroline shouted in agreement, "Tequila shots!" She climbed over Stefan's lap and scrambled to the bar with Elena.

"What can I get you?" the bartender asked Caroline as soon as she walked up. It helped to have pretty girls in your party when trying to get quick service.

"My friend and I would like two tequila shots please," Caroline flirted. The bartender set a shaker of salt and two limes on the counter and filled two shot glasses with tequila for Caroline.

"What am I doing?" Elena asked, never having done tequila shots before.

"Ok, so put the salt on your hand, then lick it off, take your shot, and then eat the lime," Caroline instructed with an air of practiced competence. The girls took their shots, and Elena coughed at the harshness of the liquor burning her throat. Damon and Stefan watched as they nursed another round of beers. They wanted to be sober enough in case the girls needed to be carried back to their room at the end of the night. Caroline asked for another pair of shots and the bartender poured them for her immediately. Elena picked up the saltshaker, but Caroline took it from her.

"No do this," Caroline brushed Elena's hair over her shoulder and rubbed an ice cube on her neck, pouring salt over the wet area.

"What are you doing Care?" Elena asked, shocked at her friend's actions.

"Shh," Caroline said with a smile, "we're having fun, and Damon will love this, trust me." Caroline put the lime to Elena's lips, "Hold this," she said. _Maybe Caroline is on to something after all_, Elena thought to herself. Caroline quickly licked the salt off of her neck and threw her shot back. She grabbed Elena's face and pressed her mouth to hers, taking the lime from her lips. When Caroline pulled away, she dropped the lime rind in her empty shot glass and motioned Elena to look over the their table. Elena glanced over and saw both of the Salvatore brothers were watching them carefully. "Told 'ya," Caroline chirped, "Now, your turn." She handed Elena the saltshaker. "Give them something to stare at Lena."

"Mhmm," Elena said with a self-satisfied smile, _If they thought that was hot_… she thought to herself. She trailed the ice cube along Caroline's shoulder and gave her a lime wedge. She followed Caroline's instructions to lick off the salt and take her shot, but when she went to take the lime she pulled Caroline closer to her and kissed her hotly. Caroline wove her fingers through Elena's long hair and kissed her back. When she felt that she had made enough of a spectacle for the boys Elena pulled back with the lime wedge between her teeth. Both of the brothers were staring at them in awe, with their jaws dropped. Elena locked her gaze with Damon and cocked her eyebrow flirtatiously as she bit into the lime and dropped the rind into her glass.

"Ok," Damon said, standing abruptly, "how are they having more fun than us?"

"I _am_ having fun," Stefan whined.

"No, Stef, not yet you aren't," Damon said patting him on the back. Stefan didn't like the tone of his older brother's voice, and he knew that he was in for an historic evening.

"Ladies," Damon said, putting his arms around Caroline and Elena, "I see you've learned a thing or two at school."

"Oh, Uno," Caroline jumped up and down, "are you going to join us?"

"Absolutely," Damon motioned to the bartender for four more shots. He handed Stefan one and the girls each took theirs. The four friends clinked their glasses and took their shots.

"Take off your jacket Stefan," Caroline shouted, pulling at his sleeves. He complied, and set his jacket over a nearby barstool. His eyes went wide when Caroline poked an ice cube against his neck and sprinkled salt on him. She shoved the lime wedge into his mouth and smiled at his bewilderment. "Perfect," she said with a smile. After licking off the salt and taking her shot, Caroline gingerly took the lime from Stefan without touching his lips. "Thanks," she said giving Stefan a wink.

"She's good at this," Damon whispered to Elena. He was actually very happy to see his brother cut loose a little and have some fun.

"Now, you do Elena!" Caroline shouted pushing the saltshaker into Damon's hand and grabbing a lime wedge for them. Instead of taking the ice cube Damon swooped down and licked across Elena's collarbone. She could feel her stomach fluttering under his touch. He sprinkled the salt onto her and held the lime wedge for her to take.

"You okay?" he asked. She just nodded quickly and took the lime from his fingers. He slowly licked the salt from her décolleté and swallowed his shot. He moved to take the lime, and as soon as their lips touched everything else disappeared. Elena's fingers slid through the belt loops of his jeans to pull him closer to her. He moved his fingers through her hair and tilted her head to kiss her more deeply. Elena pulled him closer still and he pressed his hips against hers. He put a hand out on the edge of the bar to steady himself. She moved one hand from his belt loop to his neck, grazing his abdomen and chest along the way, tangling her fingers in the hair at the nape of his neck. When Damon pulled away he had his typical smirk plastered on his face.

"I love spring break," he said huskily, satisfied that he left Elena with swollen lips and flushed cheeks. Drunk or not, she had never been kissed like _that_ before.

"That was seriously hot," Caroline commented staring at the duo. She shook her head and handed Stefan his glass, "your turn Stefan."

"Uh…" Stefan stuttered, taking the glass from Caroline, "no, that's ok, I'm good." He swallowed his drink quickly, trying to avoid getting into an awkward situation with Caroline, well a _more_ awkward situation.

"Ugh, whatevs," Caroline tossed her hair over her shoulder. "Come dance with me then," she grabbed his arm and dragged him through the crowd of people, disappearing from Damon and Elena's view. Damon was trying to see what Stefan was going to do when he felt someone tugging at his jacket. He turned his head to see Elena trying to climb into his lap.

"What are you doing Lena?" he wanted to give the bartender a high five, but he knew that Elena wiggling around on his lap in her little short shorts wasn't going to end well.

"Nothing," she grunted trying to get her balance, she finally plopped herself into Damon's lap, "that seat wasn't comfortable."

"So you're just going to sit on me for the rest of the night?" he was almost hoping she would say no.

"Mhmm," she replied reaching for her drink on the bar. He put his arms around her waist, partly to draw her closer and partly to stop her from squirming. She was prattling about school and her internship at a local newspaper and Damon was just trying to take everything in. Talking on the phone was one thing, but he has missed spending time with Elena one on one.

"So Eleeeena," he said dragging her same out, "I think you're drunk my dear."

"I think _you're_ drunk," Elena replied happily, as she reached for another shot and laughing as Damon spilled part of his. "Do you need a bib?" she asked with a mock pouty face.

"Sorry I can't unhinge my jaw like a snake to consume alcohol," Damon said lightly, cleaning up his mess. He could feel Elena leaning more and more of her weight against his chest, showing how much the alcohol was affecting her.

"Damon," she slurred, "I'm kind of sleepy." He head lolled against his shoulder.

"I bet you are," he answered. "Can you stand?" he asked, helping her off of his lap, only to catch her again when she lost her balance.

"Nope," she laughed shaking her head.

He helped her out of the bar, trying to avoid curbs and other hazards. "Be careful, you're going to…" he had to move quickly to catch her when she tripped over a buckled piece of pavement, "fall."

"You'll always catch me," she said quietly.

"Always," he agrees and picked her up to carry her back to the motel. When they reached their room he shook her slightly in his arms to make sure she was still awake, "Lena, I am going to set you down for a sec, ok?"

"K," she said, holding his neck tighter.

"Sweetheart you have to let go so I can put you down," he told her, trying to get the key out of his pocket while still holding her, but to no avail.

"I can get the key!" she announced, more loudly than was necessary and shoved her hand in the pocket of his jeans.

"Jesus, Elena," he gasped, nearly dropping her and willing her not to move her hand anymore. She fished around for a second and withdrew her hand.

"Found it," she said with a grin, dangling to key in front of him. He set her on her feet and snatched the key from her hands, opening the door. She walked right in and plopped down on their bed.

"Your legs work," he commented after seeing her get around the room, albeit she was stumbling and little uncoordinated.

"Yep," she said, patting his side of the bed for him. "I just like it when you carry me." She'd probably have a hang over in the morning but Damon thought she was an adorable drunk. He helped her slip her shoes off and made sure the room's heater was on before he lay down beside her. "Damon, can I tell you something?"

"Of course," he said turning to look at her. She rolled over on her side and tucked her hands under her head like a pillow, looking at him seriously.

"We forgot our Caroline and Stefan."

"They'll be fine. Stef has a key. Is that all you wanted to tell me?"

"No, but that was important, too."

"Well, what did you want to tell me then?"

"That you're a good kisser, or great kisser. I don't kiss around a lot," her brow was furrowed as though she were deep in thought.

"Good," Damon said with a small laugh. _Now, there is something sober Elena would never say_, he thought.

"Why good?" she asked confused.

"Because you shouldn't Lena," he explained, knowing she wouldn't remember any of this in the morning, "you shouldn't have to. Find someone who wants to kiss you and only you everyday." She was silent for a moment and he thought she had fallen asleep.

"What if I don't?" she asked quietly.

"You will sweetheart," he said pulling her closer to him and kissing her temple, "I promise."

"Like you and Andi," she said sadly.

"Who told you about Andi?" Damon asked, knowing already that it had to have been his gossipy little brother. Andi was hot and fun and they'd been out a couple of times, but they weren't epic like him and the girl next to him.

"Steeeefan," she sighed, turning onto her back, as if she was giving up a big secret.

"Of course," he answered, rolling his eyes, "but no, not like me and Andi. She's not the girl I want to kiss everyday."

"Why not?"

"Eh," he mumbled, "I've always had a thing for miniature brunette writers with zero alcohol tolerance." He took full advantage of the fact that Elena wasn't going to remember any of their conversation tomorrow to get his feelings off of his chest.

"I'm not miniature," she pouted. He had to laugh that she missed the entire point of his statement, and focused in on the part about her short stature.

"Lena, I just carried you six blocks and didn't break a sweat, ergo… miniature."

"I don't feel good, Damon," she frowned and rolled over again, burrowing her face into his shoulder.

"I know you don't, you're going to feel even less good in the morning Lushy Pants."

"That was pretty fun though," she burst into a fit of giggles, making a complete 180 from her serious tone only moments before, "I think Caroline likes Stefan."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah, she can't read palms."

"I guessed as much."

"I don't feel good, Damon," she repeated.

"I know," he smiled, "do you want some water?"

"Yeah, and some breadsticks."

"We don't have any breadsticks Lena," he was finding her drunk randomness amusing and endearing. She wasn't bitchy, melodramatic or trying to attract attention to herself like so many girls would, she was just a chattier version of her normal self.

"None?" he shook his head in confirmation, "Not even the little crunchy ones with cheese dip?" he shook his head again, "shoot!" She had a comically disappointed expression on her face, "Just water then." He got up and filled a glass with water from the tap and handed it to her carefully as she sat up on the edge of the bed. He sat next to her and rubbed her back. She finished the glass and set it on the nightstand between the beds.

"Better?" he asked and she nodded.

"Can we…" she was blushing, even more than the alcohol flush she was sporting earlier, "can we cuddle?"

"Come here Lena," he chortled, leaning against the headboard and opened his arms to her. She crawled over to him and snuggled closely to him.

"I missed you this semester. It was weird without you there."

"I missed you, too."

"I don't like it," she pouted childishly.

"You have Caroline and your schoolwork," he tried to reason with her, tucking a stray piece of hair behind her ear. "You know I try to call you everyday and I still love reading your articles in the school paper." He said it more for himself than her. He had tried to give her some space after he moved back to Mystic Falls to do her own thing, but he couldn't let her go no matter how hard he tried. He felt guilty that she spent almost every night holed up in her room talking to him on the phone or instant messenger while her classmates were out living the college experience.

"So… I still don't like it," she was being stubborn as usual.

"It's just one more semester, I'm sure you'll live."

"I guess so," she grumbled.

"You will, you'll be done in no time."

"I'm applying for some jobs on the West Coast," she said plainly, not knowing a better way to break the news to him. "Seattle and San Francisco, maybe San Jose." She was hoping he wouldn't get angry.

"San Francisco would be better, I don't think I could pull off the northwest coffeehouse look and I'm definitely _not_ growing a beard," he said, absent-mindedly stroking her hair. "But, I prefer the Seahawks over the Niners, so it's 50/50."

"You'd really come with me?" she looked up at him, resting her chin on his chest. Her eyes glittered with hope and she felt her heart swell with joy. Leaving Damon had been her biggest fear. She wasn't even sure she could do it, no matter how great the job offer.

"If you think I'd let your naïve, trusting, small-town little self move across the country by yourself you haven't been paying attention for the last two decades," he replied with a smile. "Besides, Carmen's never been cross-country before."

"Of course," she said with a playful eye roll, and settled her head back on his chest. "Love you," she said sleepily, grabbing at his hand.

"Love you too, Lena," he kissed the top of her head. "Get some sleep." It wasn't long before her breaths evened out, telling him that she was asleep. He wasn't really tired so he flipped on the TV with the remote and turned the sound down low. He clicked through channels until he found a hockey game on ESPN. Halfway through the third period Caroline and Stefan came stumbling through the door laughing about something. Damon waved his hand at them to be quiet and pointed to Elena who was still soundly asleep on his chest. Caroline gave him a thumbs-up and pulled her fingers across her lips like a zipper indicating that she would be quiet. She and Stefan flopped onto the empty bed, laughing as quietly as they could.

"They're so freaking adorable," Caroline said, trying to whisper but not realizing how loud she was. "Like little puppies in a basket."

"Caroline, come here, I know a secret" Stefan said in the same tone, "My brother is in love with Elena."

"Goddamnit Stefan," Damon growled pulling a pillow out from under his head and launching it at his brother but trying not to move too much and wake Elena, "shut the fuck up!"

"Ooooo," Caroline whispered to Stefan, "defensive much." The two of them burst out in peals of laughter again, loud enough this time for Elena to stir. She shifted slightly on Damon's chest but didn't wake up.

"Knock it off you two," Damon hissed, "take the babysitter's club elsewhere. You better not wake her up." He turned off the TV and tossed the remote, missing the nightstand but letting it stay on the floor so he didn't have to get up. Caroline turned off the light and rustled in the blankets for a few minutes. Just when Damon thought she and Stefan were asleep he heard them start whispering again.

"You are so right, Stefan."

"Told you, ever since he moved home he's like 'Elena this' and 'Elena that'."

"Oh my god," Caroline gasped, "she's be on and on nonstop all last week about how she couldn't wait to see him again. Wouldn't they be so cute? We should go back to the bar."

"Why? We just got here from there," Stefan slurred, clearly confused.

"Well, we go back and they confess their love for each other and you know..."

"I don't want to be here for that."

"I can hear every fucking word you two idiots are saying," Damon said through clenched teeth.

"Then stop listening, Damon!" Caroline shouted, waking Elena up.

"You guys made it back," Elena said groggily and yawned. Damon shot his brother and Caroline a look that showed how unhappy he was with them waking her up. She didn't seem to mind though, she just rolled over on her side and pulled Damon's arm around her waist so he could spoon her.

When Elena awoke the next morning her head felt like it was being crushed in a vise grip. She peeked one eye open, testing for the brightness of the room only to see a very smug Damon perched on the side of the bed next to her extending a mug in her direction.

"Coffee?" he asked with a smirk.

"Thank you," she rose up slowly to lean against the headboard and took the mug from his hands. "Ugh… my head hurts," she groaned miserably.

"A hang over will do that. Come on, some fresh air will help you feel better."

She stalked out of the hotel room twenty minutes later with dark sunglasses on and her hair in a messy updo, still wearing her halter-top and denim shorts from the night before. Damon was waiting out on the motel's walkway taking in the oceanfront scenery. When he heard the door creak open he turned around and took in his other favorite view.

"Sleeping Beauty emerges," he chuckled.

"Did I do anything embarrassing last night?" she asked as they walked across the street the to sand of the beach.

"Depends on if you count making out with Caroline embarrassing or not?"

"Not anymore," Elena said off-handedly, stopping Damon in his tracks.

"Whoa, what do you mean 'not anymore'? Do you and Blondie have something I should know about? Full disclosure: I fully support whatever it is and volunteer to be your chaperone for all future girl outings."

"God Damon," she exclaimed, shoving him playfully, "we're not lesbians. She's just a very affectionate drunk."

"That's too bad."

"Was there anything else?" she wasn't sure if she wanted to know.

"Umm… no," he lied as convincingly as he could. "That was it."

"You're a horrible liar Damon," she smiled, shaking her head, "but you are pretty satisfactory at tequila shots."

"Oh come on," he scoffed, putting his arm around her shoulder and pulling her closer to him, "I'm a lot better than pretty satisfactory."

"I give you a six. Missing style, but I was pleasantly surprised," she giggled when he picked her up and tossed her over his shoulder, carrying her the surf line.

"A six? You sure about that Lena?" she was trying to lash out against him with her fists and kick her legs free, but he just held on more tightly. "Maybe a nice dip in the water would clear your judgment a little."

"Damon Salvatore," she screamed, "don't you dare drop me."

"Are you still going to give me a 6 out 10?"

"No," she said seriously, and she could feel him shift to set her back on the sand. When she was steady on her feet, she gave him a wide grin "I was working on a 20 point scale," and with that she took off down the beach, running as fast as she could, knowing that he would be right behind her. He caught her in a few dozens yards and swooped her into his arms, much like he was carrying her last night.

"Now I _know_ your judgment is clouded," he said and heaved her into the waves, her screams were quickly silenced by the surf. He was laughing hysterically when she limped out of the water, soaking wet.

"Damon," she said tearfully, and he immediately stopped laughing, "I think I stepped on a jellyfish or something."

"Where?" He asked, crouching down before her, "come here, let me see?" She put her hands on his shoulders, making it look like she was trying to balance against him to lift her foot into his lap, but instead she leaned down with an evil glint in her eyes.

"How do you fall for this every time?" she whispered before pushing him backwards into an oncoming wave. She sprinted back across the beach towards their room, and made it to the door before he caught up with her. She tried turning the handle, but it was locked from the inside. He jingled the key next to her ear, letting her know that he was right behind her.

"Looking for this?" he asked slyly. She turned quickly so that her back was against the door and she was staring right at him. His jeans were soaking wet and covered in sand from where she'd pushed him in the water and she couldn't stifle the giggle that erupted from her lips.

"Truce?" she said, not wanting to keep up their game because she was sure to lose. He'd only fall for her bait-and-switch once.

"That depends," he said enigmatically, putting his hands against the doorframe to cage her in, "are you still only giving me a 6?"

"Well, what do _you_ think you deserve?" she asked, batting her eyes at him. She loved flirting with Damon, and he was the only one she was comfortable enough to do it with.

"Much higher, at least an 18," he wagged his eyebrows at her.

"I definitely don't remember an 18," she murmured as he leaned closer to her. She tilted her head to look straight into his eyes.

"Maybe you need an encore," he said huskily.

"Maybe indeed," she answered. He closed the distance between them and she closed her eyes waiting for him to kiss her again, but the door behind her gave way suddenly and she would have fallen over had he not caught her.

"What are _you_ two doing?" Caroline asked with a hint of scandal in her voice. Elena whipped around, a crimson blush spreading across her entire face.

"Elena, what happened?" Stefan asked, looking over Caroline's shoulder, "you're all wet."

"Yeah she is," Caroline said suggestively, looking at Damon with a smirk. "Looks like you're having a _hard_ time this morning too, Damon."

"Caroline," Damon growled, trying to shift his jeans to make his excitement less obvious, "not another damn word."

_Present_

"Likely excuse," he said, "blame the tequila all you want, but we both know you just couldn't resist me." He captured her lips with a kiss and pulled her tightly against him. She moaned when his morning arousal slid against her thigh.

"Are you sore?" he asked tentatively rolling to hover over her.

"You aren't?!" she sounded shocked, but was nonetheless impressed with his stamina and flattered at his desire for her.

"Me? No, baby, I am the eternal stud," his cocky smirk showed that he was probably telling the truth. He was now positioned at her core and could feel how hot she was for him. He was just about to take her when she surprised him by rolling them over so she was straddling his hips with her knees. He ran his hands over her thighs appreciatively. She stretched out across his chest and run her fingers through his hair.

"Want to know what I was dreaming about last night?" she whispered, catching his ear gently in her teeth.

"Uh-huh," he nodded, doubting his ability to form actual words. She pushed herself back up and sunk down slowly onto his length, moaning in satisfaction. When she had taken him in completely, she rocked her hips gently against his. He fought the urge to flip them over and take control, but he was happy that she was comfortable enough to take charge. He ran his hands up her thighs and over her stomach to reach her breasts. He massaged them gently since she still seemed tender from his inadvertently rough treatment the night before. She put her hands over his and interlocked their fingers. He had never seen her so beautiful than when she was in the throes of passion with her eyes closed and her hair wild about her face.

"God Damon," she panted, "you feel so good." She could feel her muscles begin to flutter and spasm, signaling that she was nearing her climax. Her hands shot down to his shoulders to steady herself against him.

"Lena… fuck… I'm close," he grit through clenched teeth. His fingertips were digging into her hips hard enough to leave bruises. He loved knowing he had marked her and hoped she wouldn't be too mad about it. He felt her grip his shoulders tighter, her nails drawing small crescents of blood to the surface as she neared her release. He bucked his hips in time with hers and they reached their bliss almost simultaneously. She collapsed onto his chest, sweaty and sated. He brushed the strands of hair that were plastered to her forehead behind her ears.

"I told you I wasn't having a nightmare," she said, playing with his hair affectionately.

"How did I keep my hands to myself all this time?" he mused, shifting them to a more comfortable position where they were laying side by side. "How do you feel?" he asked thoughtfully, bringing her hands to his lips.

"Amazing," she sighed.

"No regrets?" he asked without meeting her eyes. While he was on cloud nine, there was the gnawing thought in the back of his mind that she might re-evaluate her feelings from last night. He had never felt so thoroughly happy before and part of him wanted to bask in it, another, darker, part of him was wondering when it would end.

"Only that we didn't do this sooner," she smiled. She finally understood what the heroines in her books were talking about. When she told Damon about the kind of love she wanted last night she didn't know what she was walking about; this kind of love couldn't be put into words. She was awash in contradiction; she was at once flying and anchored. She felt more alive than she ever had. She wanted to laugh at the past version of herself who believed that having Damon's friendship was enough because now she knew that nothing short of this kind of love would _ever_ be enough. Even if they spent the rest of their lives together, she would never get enough of him, his touch, his voice, and his smile. She was hooked.

"I love seeing you happy," he said. He truly did, he would do anything to keep making her happy. "You have no idea how amazing you are, Lena."

"Stop it," she admonished playfully and tried to hide her pink cheeks in the pillow.

"Nope, not gonna. I feel like you need to be told how beautiful," he kissed her lightly, "smart," another kiss, "and incredible you really are."

"You just have to say things like that because you're my boyfriend now."

"Boyfriend?" he asked hesitantly.

"Well… I just figured… that since, you know… I guess," she stuttered over her words, embarrassed for jumping to conclusions about their relationship.

"Do you want me to be your boyfriend?" he asked, trying to hide his smile but failing miserably.

"Yes," she replied quietly.

"Can I tell you something?" she nodded, and he leaned closely to whisper in her ear. "Me too," he said simply kissing her ear and across her jaw.

"Can I pull boyfriend rank on the whole moving in issue?" he asked, sucking on her neck lightly. "You know how much I want you here."

"Ok," she sighed as he brushed over a particularly sensitive spot.

"'Ok' as in you'll move in?" he pressed for clarification.

"Yeah, as long as it's ok with Stefan. I don't want him to feel left out of the loop in his own house," she answered.

"Well, it's _my_ house and it's fine. We talked about it already and he'd be happy to have you here. You're practically a Salvatore, Lena." She was really hoping he meant in a romantically connected sense and not in a sisterly sense but when his hand dipped between her things, there was nothing familial about it.

"Ok, now I really am sore. No more for a little while," she moved away slightly. She couldn't believe that he was ready to go again.

"I can't help myself though," he whined, pouting his lips and trying to give her his best puppy dog eyes. "I've waited so long and you got me hot by agreeing to move in."

"Nice try. I think you are going to need to _help_ _yourself_ Damon," she smirked.

"Tease," he rolled his eyes dramatically, "I'll be helping myself in the shower." She eyed him appreciatively as he strode with his cocky swagger to his adjoined bathroom. She couldn't believe how everything had just changed, literally, overnight. It would be easy to get used to waking up like this every morning. For the first time in months she was genuinely happy, and it had everything to do with Damon Salvatore.

Damon was humming an upbeat tune to himself as he got out of the shower. He was wiping the fog off of the mirror when he heard a tremendous clatter from downstairs followed by the scream of the smoke detector. He grabbed a towel and bolted from his bedroom and ran down the stairs two at a time to see what the cause of all of the noise was. A thin wisp of smoke was drifting into the parlor from beneath the kitchen door.

"Elena!" he shouted over the noise, approaching the kitchen door. "Elena!"

"Damon! Don't come in here!" she responded quickly, her voice muffled by the door between them. His heart rate slowed considerably at the sound of her voice.

"Elena, what are you doing in there?" he said as he swung the door open, waving smoke out of his face.

"Damon! I said don't come in here!" she squealed while standing on a bar stool trying to reset the smoke alarm with a spatula. He knew that he should have been angry, but the sight of Elena covered in flour hovering over a sheet of burnt slices of charcoal was it too funny not to laugh. He leaned against the door to try to catch his breath.

"What on Earth are you trying to do?" Damon chuckled as Elena jumped off the barstool. He was honestly trying to figure it out on his own, but whatever she was baking was burnt beyond recognition. He tried hard to hide his amusement, but failed.

"Well, I _wasn't_ trying to burn your house down, but… yeah…" she huffed blowing a stray wisp of hair out of her face. He walked across the kitchen, grabbed a dishtowel and wiped the flour off of her face.

"To be fair, you didn't burn it down," he smiled, bringing her chin to him for a kiss. He inspected the piles of ingredients on the counter, coming to the conclusion that she must have been trying to make something for breakfast.

"That's true, I think it's all just smoke. There wasn't any actual fire," she smiled, rather proud of herself for not starting a fire.

"So besides forcing me to get some cardio in this morning, what were you doing?"

"Fine," she said dejectedly, "I was going to try to make us breakfast."

"What were you making?"

"Crepes and scrambled eggs."

"In the oven?"

"No... maybe?" she said tentatively, looking up at him through her lashes and pouting slightly and a pink tint rose to her cheeks. After so many years she knew exactly which buttons she could push to get him to give in, this was one of them. He could never resist her pouting.

"That explains the smoke. You are too cute," he barked with a hearty laugh.

"Stop that!" she said smacking his shoulder lightly, laughing along with him. Damon was probably the only person in the world who could laugh when it looked like a hurricane swept through his usually immaculate kitchen.

"What? I am just complementing you."

"Ok Mr. White Horse, but had you not interrupted me all sexy hot in your towel and dripping wet I probably would have figured it out." Damon moved towards her and put his hands on her hips to pull her closer to him.

"Do you want me to show you how to make breakfast baby?" he asked kissing her cheek, lingering at her ear.

"Yeah," she said with a slight blush, "but you need to put some clothes on first." Not that watching him make breakfast shirtless would be the worst thing in the world.

"Or maybe you need to lose some," he answered seductively, "then I won't have to go upstairs to get clothes."

"We both know what will happen then," she mumbled against his lips, "and I still _do_ need to go to work at some point this morning."

"Awww," he whined, jutting out his lip, "can't you call in sick? I can make it worth your while; maybe some breakfast in bed, I can rub all your sore muscles from last night, get them re-sore again, hmm?"

"Mmm, Damon," she moaned as he slid his hands under her tank top.

"God, I love it when you say my name like that." He pulled her top off over her head, leaving her in her black bra and flannel sleeping pants. She ran her fingers through his dark wet hair and he picked her up to set her down on the kitchen island. Her fingers traced down his lean chest and muscular abs to the top of the towel that was slung low on his hips and undid the twist that was holding it in place, letting it fall to floor. She shyly wrapped her hand around his arousal, earning an appreciative growl from him. She blushed fiercely, not knowing what to do next. He wrapped his hand over hers, guiding her as she slowly pumped up and down. He moved his hand to her hip and braced himself against the counter with the other one as not to collapse under the pleasure of her ministrations. He leaned his forehead against her shoulder and she gently stroked his hair, making him purr in satisfaction. All of a sudden the front door opened and slammed shut.

"Damon! You home?" a familiar happy voice sounded from the foyer moving towards the kitchen, "What the hell are you cooking?"

"Stefan!" Elena screamed as Stefan walked through the swinging door of the kitchen, "oh my god! Get out!" She scrambled to get off the counter.

"WHOA! What the hell, you guys! Jesus Damon!" Stefan shouted covering his eyes.

"Get out of here Stefan!" Damon said, trying to cover himself up and avoid getting kicked by Elena's flailing legs.

"Elena! When did this happen?" Stefan was shocked at the scene before him.

"Stefan. Out. Now." Damon commanded and Stefan turned so abruptly that the kitchen door swung back, almost hitting him square in the face. He went to the parlor and started reading a magazine on the coffee table to try to push the awkward encounter out of his mind. Damon replaced his towel casually and looked around to see where Elena was hiding.

"Elena, you can come out now," Damon cooed as Elena emerged from her hiding place behind the island. She was beet red and obviously flustered. Damon, on the other hand, was smiling and laughing to himself.

"You're laughing. That's perfect."

"Oh come on Lena, it's just Stefan."

"That's supposed to make me feel better. He's your brother and pretty much a brother to me and he just walked in on us half naked in your kitchen."

"Well, _you_ were half naked, I was all the way naked."

"Oh my god, I'm so embarrassed," she groaned covering her red face with her hands.

"I guess if I would have like… locked the front door…" Damon answered with a knowing shrug.

"Really?" Elena said crossing her arms, "you really want to go there now?"

"Just saying," he said as she gave him a pointed look, making him chuckle softly. He gently grabbed her by the shoulders forcing her to face him, "Lena, it's fine. These things happen, it's not a big deal. Stef is a big boy, it's not like he's going to be scarred for life. I'm going to go get dressed, get a couple of things from upstairs, and I'll talk to him. Ok?"

"Ok, can you get my clothes while you're upstairs too?"

"You're going to have to come out of here sooner or later Lena."

"Later then, can you bring my green sweater from the guest room with you when you come back. I need it for work."

"Sure, baby," and with a quick kiss he left the room. He strolled through the parlor with ease, nodding to Stefan and trying to make him more uncomfortable. He jogged up the stairs to his room and threw on a pair of dark-wash jeans and a black T-shirt. He ran a towel through his hair to dry it slightly and shook his head for his locks to fall in place. He took a small fire-safe box out of his closet and set it on his bed. He took a deep breath and unlocked the box, rummaging through it until he found what he was looking for. He inspected the item carefully and, being satisfied, closed the safe box and put it back in the closet.

Stefan was perched uncomfortably on the sofa in the parlor when Damon came down the stairs, whistling to himself. He half-smiled at Stefan's serious countenance and sauntered over to the cabinet where he kept his bourbon.

"So, brother, how was the Big Apple?" he asked casually, pouring himself a drink and sitting in an armchair, apparently he was the only one who wasn't ruffled by the earlier encounter in the kitchen.

"What were you doing with Elena?" Stefan asked point blank.

"Why? Jealous?" Damon tried for his signature brand of snark, but was met with a stern stare from his younger brother, "Oh, come off it, Stef, you've walked in on far worse than that. That was pretty much PG-13."

"Elena, Damon! Really? Elena isn't just some flavor-of-the-week you can bring home, mess around with, and not call again."

"I know that. What makes you think that's what this is?"

"Look at your track record Damon. That's all they ever are to you! I seem to remember you being very proud about your 'snatch-fuck-forget' system at Alaric's bachelor party," Stefan gestured wildly with his hands. Elena had been like a sister to him growing up and he loved her as such. He didn't want her to get hurt, and he knew exactly what Damon was capable of when it came to women. He rarely ever challenged his big brother, but he just wanted to make sure that Elena wasn't being set up for heartbreak.

"She's not a 'they'!" Damon stood to pace in front of the fireplace, already seeing where this conversation was headed, "I'm not proud of most of the things I've done, ok? I know I'm not exactly Prince Charming, but none of the other ones have ever been Elena. It's not like that with her."

"Then tell me honestly, what are you doing?"

"I love her, Stefan." Damon said simply, "more than anything," Damon seemed shy at his confession and looked away from his brother, focusing back on the fire crackling in the fireplace.

"So when did you come to this epiphany?" Stefan asked leaning back into the couch, looking a little less angry and a little more interested in the situation. He was thoroughly enjoying catching his older brother in one of his extremely rare vulnerable moments. If Damon was ever going to open about anything, it was during moments like these.

"When you told me about the accident," Damon said solemnly. Stefan nodded, remembering the night well. "When I saw her in that emergency room Stef, I lost it; all those doctors running around like crazy and things beeping everywhere. It seemed like days. There was nothing I could do except sit there and wait. Do you know what I thought about the whole time I was in that waiting room?"

"What?"

"How could I live if I lost her?" Damon said passionately, "I wondered if I could even exist in a world without Elena. And I was such an idiot, Stef. It took almost losing her to realize that she is everything to me, that she's always been everything to me."

"Why now then?"

"Why not now? I wasted years trying to ignore how I felt about her. _Years_! I was convinced that there was no way someone as incredible as Elena could ever want someone like me. Everything that I am today is because of her. You've known her for as long as I have, you know what I'm talking about. She is so far out of my league in every way so I settled for being her friend because at least I was still something to her. But after that night at the hospital, I knew 'something' wasn't going to be enough."

"Wow," Stefan smiled widely, "you were insecure."

"Jeez Stefan, out of this whole conversation that's what you got?" Damon threw up his hands, "yes, ok, yes, I was insecure. I was afraid of rejection, that if I told her how I felt about her she'd bolt and I'd lose her completely. Happy now?"

"Thrilled, brother," Stefan stood up and clapped his hand over Damon's shoulder, "I think you and your insufferable ego have had a breakthrough."

"Very funny."

"But seriously though, I am happy for you even if I'm going to need to bleach my eyes a few times. Hell, I've known you were in love with Elena since we were kids! It's nice that you two are finally one the same page as everyone else."

"What?"

"Damon, seriously? Don't be daft. I think you and Elena are the only ones who _didn't_ know. You've been attached at the hip since she learned how to walk. I'm just surprised she stuck around waiting for you with all the screwing around you do. You're a lucky man, brother. Treat her well."

"Trust me Stef, I plan to. Forever." Stefan gave him a hearty pat on the back and a broad smile as he walked out of the parlor and retreated to his room. He threw back the remaining contents of his glass, needing a little liquid courage for what he was about to do. Damon swung the door open to kitchen and Elena leapt into his arms, kissing him passionately. She twisted her fingers into his t-shirt to pull him closer and snaked her arm around his neck. He instinctively put his arms around her waist and hugged her tightly.

"Elena," Damon smiled against her lips, "Stefan is still here. Just a warning."

"I know," she replied, kissing him more fiercely, "you've never had anything to be insecure about."

"So you heard, huh?" and if Elena watched closely she could have sworn she saw Damon blush for a millisecond.

"You Salvatores are loud talkers."

"We're passionate orators."

"You won't ever lose me, Damon." She said as she pulled him down for another kiss. "I'm all yours, always and forever."

"Marry me?" he whispered against her lips.

Elena froze at those words, thinking she must have imagined them. She always knew that Damon was impulsive, but she had never figured him for being plumb insane. She pulled back, putting her hands against his chest. His magnificent blue eyes fixated on her as he caressed her cheek gently with his thumb. He smiled crookedly and reached into his pocked, producing a small velvet box with worn edges. When he flipped it open, her heart skipped a beat. It was his mother's ring. She had always admired the simple three-stone platinum ring as a little girl. She had always dreamt that Damon would give her the ring someday, but she never thought it would actually happen.

"Damon, it hasn't even been 12 hours."

"I know, and I know this seems crazy, but I want you to be mine forever Lena. And let's face it— I've never been patient. We've known each other for our entire lives. That's way more than most marriages are built on. I knew that the second I woke up and saw you in my bed I wanted this; I didn't think I could fall anymore in love with you than I was when we fell asleep last night but I am, even right now."

Tears began to well up in Elena's eyes and threatened to spill over if he kept saying these sweet, beautiful, wonderful things.

"I meant what I said to Stefan, I can't live without you. We don't have to get married tomorrow or even next year or anything, but I'd like to just pencil it in sometime in the future. So," he said, dipping onto one knee and taking her hands, "Elena Jane Gilbert, will you marry me?"

She wiped away a few tears with the sleeve of her sweater. When most people saw Damon they saw a reckless, mercurial, impulsive, arrogant playboy, but Elena knew different. With her, he was tender, affectionate, and selfless. He understood her on a deeper level than anyone ever had. He was capable of boundless love and made her feel like she was the only woman on Earth. When she was with him, he consumed her. In short, he was everything she wanted. She nodded her head, not trusting her voice to speak.

"Is that a 'yes'?"

"Yes, yes, of course yes!" she giggled and stood up to spin her around. When he set her back on her feet he plucked the ring from its velvet nest and slid it onto her finger. When the band was in place, he brought her hand to his lips and kissed her knuckle.

"When my mom gave me this ring she told me that she thought it would fit you perfectly. She was right."

"So we really are the only two who didn't know, huh?" Elena said with a soft chuckle.

"Here's to making up for lost time," he replied before swooping down for a passionate kiss.

* * *

**A/N: Long update, but I hope you liked it! Next up: D/E reveal their engagement, Jeremy confronts Damon, and more...**


	5. Chapter 5: Lover to Lover

_Hot off the press! I tried to give a little insight into the speedy engagement in this chapter, so I hope you all like it :) _

_slr-1: Hope you enjoy the update!_

_bellax0xchristina: I'm glad you liked the fluffiness :)_

_AlyssaIanSomerhalder: Thank you so much! You're so sweet :D_

_Guest: Damon needs his one-liners :) _

_Alice: Thank you! I hope you enjoy this chapter as well._

_Guest: Delena deserves their dose of cute :)_

_CosmicButton: I'm glad you liked it, I was hoping it wouldn't see *too* rushed._

_Barbara SGB: Thank you! Let me know what you think about this one._

_DE92: Thank you for the kind words! The flashbacks are the most fun to write ;)_

_Angelfan984: Glad you liked the morning after ;)_

_Guest: Thanks! I've always liked the idea._

_delena92: Thank you :D I hope you enjoy chapter 5!_

_domi: Fresh for your reading pleasure :)_

_Abgypig84: Thank you! Poor Stefan :D_

_M: Thank you! I'm glad you enjoy reading the story._

_Guest: I hope their date didn't disappoint :) Thank you!_

_DISCLAIMER: I do not own the Vampire Diaries, the characters, or their likenesses. No copyright infringement intended._

* * *

Despite Damon's attempts to get her to call in sick and celebrate their engagement Elena still went to work, albeit a few hours late. She had a ton of assignments to finish and needed to put the final finishing touches on her portfolio. She had an interview with _Virginia Living Magazine_ coming up; the magazine was looking for someone to take over the weekly book review column since the previous editor was taking a new position at _The Post and Courier_ in Charleston. The job would be a great stepping-stone for her career, and she had been working hard to impress the interview committee. When she was getting ready that morning, she tried to talk to Damon about what getting the job would mean for them. She would stay in Mystic Falls, of course, and work from home most of the time, but she'd have to make the overnight trip up to Richmond at least three times a month for meetings and planning sessions. She got flustered and began to stress about spending that much time apart on a regular basis. For the first time in a while she was happy, and the notion of spending so many nights in an empty hotel room away from Damon made her rethink whether she wanted the new job or not.

"It's not that much time in the grand scheme of things Lena," he said calmly. He was lounging in one of his leather armchairs and watching her put her earrings on in the bathroom.

"It could be more often though, Damon, it could be weekly," she replied, coming to stand in front of him. "Two days a week is a lot of time."

"I know it seems like it, but it'll be worth it in the long run," he pulled her onto his lap and she wrapped her arms around his neck. "Besides, sometimes we can make a weekend out of it. Stay at those lame bed and breakfasts with old lady wallpaper that you like so well."

"Really?" she asked, smiling at him, "so you wouldn't mind if I got the job?"

"Lena, I'd be thrilled if you got this job. I know you want it and it would look great on your CV. Plus, we could have really hot congratulations sex," he smirked, nuzzling her neck and making her giggle.

"Thank you, Damon," she said caressing his face gently and kissing him.

"Mmm," he moaned softly, "now, get to work, finish your portfolio, so we can get down to that whole congratulations thing." He lightly smacked her bum as she scurried out of the bedroom.

He loved that she was goal-oriented and determined to make a name for herself doing what she loved. He still felt a swell of pride when he saw _Elena J. Gilbert_ on a byline. She loved that he was so supportive of her and her aspirations; it made her feel like she could accomplish anything. More than that, it made her want to make him proud and drove her to aspire for ever-better things.

He decided to take advantage of the fact that she'd be at her office for most of the day to set up a special dinner for the two of them. Now that he had her all to himself, he planned on treating her like a queen. She'd never liked being the center of attention and didn't want people to go out of her way for her, but he wanted her to know how special she was and wanted her to feel cherished. He didn't have much experience being a doting boyfriend (or fiancée, as it were) but he knew Elena better than anyone. He was confident that he could sweep her off her feet when she got home from work that evening. He got a few things together and headed into town.

He was at the supermarket, picking up a few requisite items for the legendary date night he had planned when a sickly sweet voice from behind him made his grind his teeth together.

"Damon Salvatore," the voice purred. "Grocery shopping? You're so sexy when you're being domestic."

"Katherine," Damon said curtly, "I had no idea you knew what the inside of a grocery store looked like." Katherine had been one of Damon's 'regulars,' whenever he had needs she was pretty much always available to take care of them. She was hot in the over-the-top, Maxim covergirl sort of way and approached sex in the same detached, clinical way that Damon had before Elena. In the dozen or so times they had been together, she never once asked him about his day or anything about his personal life. He'd just show up at her place, go a couple of rounds, and leave. It was common knowledge throughout town that Katherine Pierce was conniving and manipulative and had been responsible for more than her fair share of fractured relationships. She may have been a raging bitch, but he'd never left her bed unsatisfied, that was until she made the cardinal mistake of going after Elena. She had seen Elena a few days after she was released from the hospital from the car accident and made a disparaging comment about her appearance. After a few choice words and a brutally honest review of her character Damon left and hadn't talked to her since.

"I like to browse, every once in a while. Catch up with friends," she said, raking her eyes over him.

"You don't have any friends, Katherine," Damon grumbled.

"Oh don't tell me your still perturbed over our little spat? Honestly Damon, bitter much," she rolled her at eyes at the way he was trying to ignore him. "Fine be petty, Princess. What are you doing later tonight?"

"A night in with my _fiancée_," Damon replied, emphasizing 'fiancée.'

"Fiancée? Let me guess," Katherine snorted, "virginal little Elena Gilbert? Is she still following you around like a lost puppy? That's a shame."

"Excuse me?" he asked, bristling at her comment.

"She's as dull as dishwater, Damon," she pouted. "It's a shame for such a man to be wasted on such a silly little girl," she seductively trailed her finger down his chest, "maybe I could give her a little rundown of all your favorite positions or let her know about that spot right next to your..." He grabbed her hand and squeezed it harshly, noticing a brief flash of discomfort flit across her face before her haughty smirk returned.

"Stay aware from Elena," he warned.

"Ouch, no need to get so testy Damon," she laughed, "it's a small town though, you never know when we might run into each other."

"Katherine, I swear, if you so much as utter a word to Elena…"

"Yawn," Katherine said rolling her eyes, "I'm already bored from talking about her. Anyways, you know where to find me when all that vanilla with the girl next door gets boring. Ciao." She strutted away swinging her hips.

For the first time that day, he was glad that Elena was at work lest she witnessed that encounter. He hoped that Elena trusted him enough to know that he would never be unfaithful to her, but Katherine wasn't above lying and she was a good actress. Damon only hoped their paths never crossed. He rounded up all of the items he needed and headed for the check out. He approached the cashier and rolled his eyes, today just wasn't his day.

"Hello, Damon," the red-haired cashier smiled. She was friendly, but then again she was very familiar with Damon.

"Hello, Sage," he really wanted to keep this brief and get home.

"I haven't seen you at the Grill in a while."

"I was just there the other night, guess I missed you."

"Well if you're not too busy to grab a drink tonight, catch up," she offered, lifting her eyebrow suggestively.

"No can do Sage," he said, exasperated to be explaining this for the second time today, "I've got a hot date with my fiancée tonight."

"Fiancée? Wow. Who's the lucky girl?" Sage said with a slight tone of sadness.

"Elena Gilbert," he couldn't hide his smile when he said her name.

"Hmm. Well, congratulations," she handed him his receipt and a small uncomfortable smile, "see you around."

He was really going to have to rethink ever appearing in public with Elena in Mystic Falls. He never thought he would regret his pre-Elena lifestyle, but the universe surely seemed hell bent on punishing him for it today. He walked hurriedly out to his car, hoping to avoid running into anyone else, three always was his lucky number.

"Hey Damon," he contemplated pretending he was someone else and making a break for it, but the woman had already seen him.

"Charlotte," he tried to put on a fake smile, "imagine seeing you here." _I am destined to run into every woman who reminds me how unworthy I am of Elena… swell._

"I could say the same for you. You never called me back, I was hoping we could go out again."

"Can't. I'm engaged," he no longer felt the need to explain himself in polite conversation.

"So?" she questioned.

"As in engaged to be married, Charlotte! To the love of my life, so no, I don't want to go out. I am not going to cheat on my fiancée. I do have some morals, contrary to what everyone seems to think!" _Ok, maybe that was a little much_.

"Ok," the woman said looking confused at his outburst, "good luck with that."

He was feeling grossly objectified, and wondered briefly how women deal with this sort of treatment from men on a daily basis. He made a promise to be nicer to all of womankind from now on. He also decided that if he ever had a son he would strongly advise against recreational whoring and if he had a daughter he would forbid her from dating until she was 30 and buy her a herd of cats instead.

The florist shop in town was run by the aptly named Mrs. Flowers, who was a kind old woman but liked to know everyone's business. As soon as Damon entered the small shop, she peeked out from a wall of hanging ferns she was watering. She set down her watering can and dried her hands on her apron. She had been a close friend of Damon's mother before she passed and had known the Salvatore boys since they were young.

"My goodness Damon," she said as he leaned over to give her a hug, "look how handsome you are. You are certainly Elsie's son, look at those blue eyes. She always knew you'd be a heart breaker someday."

"Thank you," hearing her use his mother's nickname made him nostalgic. "Then there's poor Stef, he's all dad."

"Oh hush," Mrs. Flowers admonished, "Stefan was just in here the other day and had the girls giggling and whispering behind his back. He just doesn't have your ego to admit it."

"I'm sure that's _exactly_ what happened," Damon smirked, earning another shushing from the old woman.

"So what brings you in today?" She was surprised to see the elder Salvatore. He stopped by once a year to buy flowers for his mother's grave on her birthday, but that was it.

"I want to surprise Elena," he suddenly realized that he had never given a girl flowers before, and didn't know the first thing about picking out a bouquet.

"Elena Gilbert?" Mrs. Flowers asked, smiling broadly, "My goodness, you would make your parents proud my dear boy. So how long have you been dating?" She knew Elena well; she stopped in every Saturday for a dozen yellow roses to leave at her parents' headstones.

"Er… a day," he said shyly, "but we're actually engaged, so it's kind of fast, but—"

"Engaged!" she exclaimed, "oh, that is beautiful. What a fine couple you make, too. Well let's make sure that you don't disappoint! What kind of flowers were you thinking?"

"Well she likes orchids, and roses, and uh…" he trailed off as he glanced around the shop, that's all he had.

"Lilies," the old woman added, "she had her prom corsage made with the prettiest pink stargazer lilies. I have the perfect idea." She flitted about the small shop pulling stems of beautiful white and pink flowers from different containers. "There is nothing more refreshing than young love," she mused while she worked. "I was just about Elena's age when my dear Henry proposed. My parents were out of their minds, they thought we were rushing into marriage and making a huge mistake. My father was still trying to talk me out of getting married when he was walking me down the aisle! They didn't know what I did though."

"And what was that?" Damon was actually interested in what Mrs. Flowers had to say.

"That I just _knew_," she smiled, "I don't know how or why, but when I saw him I just knew that he was my soul mate and you know what?"

"Huh?" he leaned closer across the counter, waiting for more of the story.

"Fifty-eight years later it's still true," she winked. "People are so cynical now about love, but that's just because so few people truly know what it's like to be in love and be loved in return. Now I'm not saying it's easy. If you love one person long enough, you're bound to fight about something sooner or later. But even when we're fighting, there's no one else I'd rather argue with than Henry. If you have that, then you have the world." She finished arranging the flowers in a simple crystal vase and tied a pink ribbon around it. Damon didn't know the first thing about floral arrangements, but he was impressed nonetheless.

"Thanks," he said appreciatively, "she'll love it."

"Good luck, Damon. You two are going to be very happy."

"We already are," he smiled. He believed every word Mrs. Flowers said, and he knew that he had found his Henry… well, in a matter of speaking, of course. He headed home, thinking over his final plans for tonight. He just had to make one more stop on the way.

Meanwhile, Elena was trying her hardest to focus at work but all she could think about was Damon and the amazing night they spent together. She was also a little worried about breaking the news of their engagement to her friends and family... or rather, a _lot_ worried. She didn't think the "hi everyone, Damon and I went out last night, dated for 40 minutes, and then got engaged. Surprise!" speech would go over well. They were going to think she had a psychotic break, a year ago _she_ would have thought that she had a psychotic break but after losing her parents so unexpectedly, she had a whole new take on life. She was now painfully aware that life was unpredictable and short. She didn't want to let another day go by watching from the sidelines, she was ready to jump in and take control of what she wanted. It momentarily occurred to her that Mr. Hic et Nunc might not be the most stable partner to turn over this new leaf with, but the ease with which he threw caution to the wind was refreshing and exciting. At the end of the day, there was no one else she would rather go through life with and, for her, that was enough. There would always be critics, but as long as her and Damon were happy that's all that mattered.

"Elena!" Caroline exclaimed, trying to bring her attention back to the ad spread they were working on. "I asked what do you think about this one?" She pointed thoughtfully to a winter-themed layout showcasing cold weather gear from a company in upstate New York.

"Sorry Care," Elena apologized, shaking her worries from her head, "it looks good, but what is it for?"

"I don't know some ad campaign that I picked up through a freelance agency. You never told me how your date was last night?" She had pried for details earlier but was interrupted by a string of phone calls.

"It was good," Elena already began blushing, just thinking about last night. She and Damon had decided to wait to announce their engagement until they could have all of their friends together at once, that way no one would feel left out and, as Damon pointed out, it'd be the perfect excuse for a party.

"Did he like your dress?"

"He did, he liked it a lot actually."

"How was the restaurant?"

"It was really nice, he chose well."

"What did you order?"

"Pad thai."

"Did you have drinks?"

"He picked out a pretty impressive bottle of Merlot."

"What about dessert?"

"They had the most divine red velvet cake, and I had part of Damon's chocolate cake."

"How was the sex?"

"Amazing."

"Hah! I knew it! I knew it as soon as you walked in this morning!" Caroline exclaimed just as Elena realized she had walked into another one of Caroline's I'll-non-chalantly-ask-innocuous-questions-until-I-get-to-what-I-really-want-to-know schemes. "So spill, tell me everything. I want all the dirty details."

"It was really, really good Care, what else do you want me to say?"

"_Really, really good_," Caroline imitated her, "you gave better details about dessert Lena!"

"I just don't feel right bragging about it," she could feel her cheeks warming with embarrassment; Caroline wasn't going to let this go.

"So it was worth bragging about, huh?" the blonde flashed her a self-satisfied grin, knowing she was going to break her friend down sooner or later. "Tell me about the rest of the date then."

"He was a perfect gentleman. We talked and he nearly bit some guy's head off for looking at me. Then we went to his place. He told me he loved me and that was that," she knew it was a vastly abbreviated summary of what happened last night but she couldn't trust herself not to spill their little secret if she started in on the full story.

"Time out," Caroline said, motioning with her hands, "go back to the loving part. What did he say?"

"He said he loves me and has for a long time and asked me to give him a chance. I mean, it sounded a lot better when he said it."

"And what did you say?"

"That I love him," Elena continued, "then he took me to his bedroom, which is gorgeous by the way, and you know, we… made love." Elena whispered the last two words in case any of her co-workers were listening.

"Yeah, and it was good? Worth the wait?"

"A resounding yes to both," Elena smiled.

"What about this morning?" Caroline asked, knowing she wasn't going to get any more details out of the shy brunette, "are you a couple now, officially?"

"Mhmm," Elena nodded, she was glad Caroline chose the word "couple," she didn't want to lie to her best friend and that seemed ambiguous enough of a label. She subconsciously toyed with the ring that was hanging on a silver chain around her neck under her sweater. She didn't want to wear it, lest someone noticed, but she couldn't stand to leave it at home either.

"Look at you," Caroline stood up from the table they were working on, "all sexed up and committed. It's a good look for you Lena."

"Honestly, I couldn't have done it without you Care."

"Don't mention it," Caroline waved her off, "just remember that when you need a maid of honor since I'm sure there are wedding bells in the future," she said with a wink. _If only she knew how right she was_, Elena thought. There was a small pause in their conversation, "So… did you see Stefan while you were at the Boarding House?"

"Yeah, he was there this morning for a little bit. I guess he just got back."

"Oh."

"Really, 'oh?' That's all you're going to say? Caroline Forbes, you just went all Spanish Inquisition on me and you're just going to say 'oh.' What is going on with you and Stefan?"

"Nothing, well nothing yet anyways. We had a really nice time when we went to dinner last week, and I was thinking about seeing if he wanted to go out again while he was home. Do you think I should?"

"Yeah, I think you should," Elena was glad to have Caroline's attention diverted elsewhere. They decided to head out for a late lunch and went to the coffee shop around the corner. They were having a perfectly pleasant meal and chatting about some of their firm's upcoming contracts, but that suddenly changed.

"Ah, Elena and Caroline, how nice to see you both," Katherine sneered, drenching her words in fake friendliness.

"H-hi Katherine," Elena blinked. She had never really had any interaction with Katherine because she knew enough to avoid her. She was surprised that Katherine even knew her name. Caroline just rolled her eyes and took a sip of her latte.

"So Elena, I just ran in to Damon in town."

"Oh," Elena blinked, hoping that Caroline wasn't about to find out that her best friend was engaged from Katherine Pierce. "How was that?" she didn't really care to know, but she couldn't think of what else to ask.

"It's always good catching up with old friends. And Damon, he's such a chatterbox you know, I feel bad but I kind of had to cut him short. He mentioned you two were seeing each other now, or something like that." Elena breathed a sigh of relief, she knew Katherine was trying to get under her skin and discount her relationship with Damon, but it actually worked in Elena's favor, oddly enough.

"We are," Elena smiled over her coffee cup, willing Katherine back to the hive.

"That's really adorable, I'm glad to see all of those years of tagging along paid off for you," Katherine smiled fakely. "It must be a little awkward to know that your BFF fucked him first, huh?" Caroline moved her chair back viciously, ready to take Katherine on but Elena just shook her head and smiled apologetically. "Of course he's pretty much fucked every woman in town. I hope you had him tested. You can never be too careful, you know?"

"I'm well aware of Damon's past, Katherine, but thank you for the advice."

"His 'past'?" she scoffed condescendingly. "Oh sweetie, time to put down the Nicholas Sparks, people don't change. Your precious Damon is the same guy he's always been. Speaking of, I should just get your cell number now so I'll can reach you to come collect him next time he shows up at my place looking for a little fun."

"Listen you evil vamp slut, you have two seconds to beat it or…" Caroline threatened before being cut off.

"Or what Caroline? You'll protect poor little Elena from more unsavory truths? Just because she doesn't want to hear it, doesn't make it any less real. Have you two compared notes yet? I bet he had more fun with you, no offense Elena. Oh! Tip for later, he _loves_ to be handcuffed. He was literally begging me for more last time."

"Look, Katherine," Elena began, trying to keep her temper under control, "I don't know what your problem is, but I'm sorry that you're so upset about something you feel like you have to but into other peoples' personal lives to make yourself feel better. If you came over here hoping to cause a rift between Damon, Caroline, and myself, it's simply not going to happen. So if you wouldn't mind, Caroline and I would like to finish our lunch in peace now."

"Of course Elena," Katherine emphasized every syllable of her name as snarkily as she could, "well if you ever need any more tips on keeping Damon satisfied you know where to find me." She haughtily brushed some of her curls over and shoulder and began to strut out of the coffee shop, when Elena called out to her.

"Oh Katherine!" Elena added, "I really do hope you can find something to fill the giant void in your life that makes you such a lonely insufferable harpy." Katherine knew she had been beat and stalked out the door in a huff.

"Whoa," Caroline was shocked, "did Elena Gilbert just call mega-bitch Katherine Pierce out in public? Yes, I do believe she did."

"That woman makes me so freaking angry," Elena vented.

"Well, I think it's safe to say you won that one," Caroline laughed. She noticed that her friend still looked a little downcast. "Elena, don't listen to her, ok?"

"I'm trying not to, but—," Elena sighed.

"No 'buts'! Damon loves you Lena. You don't see it because you're you and too modest for your own good, but when he's with you he's a different person and I've never seen anyone so head over heels before."

"Really?" Elena asked, half skeptically and half bashfully.

"Totally, that man freaking adores you Lena. Forget about Katherine. And I'm sorry about what she said, about you know… me and Damon," Caroline didn't know how else to apologize, but she felt like she needed to.

"Caroline, please!" Elena smiled, hoping to put her friend at ease, "you have _nothing_ to apologize for. I mean it. Whatever happened in the past is done with."

They walked back to their office laughing about how feisty Elena had become. She was lucky to still have a couple of hours left of the work day to finish her portfolio and was down to selecting her last piece when Caroline popped her head over cubicle.

"It's 5 'o clock LennieBird," she sing-songed, "time to go home to your man."

"Ugh Caroline, no on the LennieBird," Elena groaned, she wasn't even sure how she got that nickname or why it stuck but it was her least favorite.

"Well I'm going to keep calling you that unless you clock out and go home. Stop obsessing over your articles, they're all brilliant."

"I'm going," she gathered her things and slid her files into her bag. She wanted to get Damon's opinions on the pieces she chose, then she'd be ready to mail them in. "Do you think you could maybe plan a get together for later this week?"

"Sure, who for?" Caroline perked up at the mention of a get together, she loved planning parties. Had she not gone into advertising, she definitely would have been an event planner.

"The usual suspects," Elena knew that she would know who that included.

"What's the occasion? Getting us all together to reveal you and Damon eloped after dinner last night?" the blonde laughed, too amused at her own joke to noticed that Elena dropped her purse at the mention of her and Damon.

"No, of course not, we just haven't had everyone together in a while, and Jeremy is getting in on Wednesday for a few days," Elena hoped that was convincing enough.

"How about Thursday night? That gives everyone a few days notice and Jeremy can get settled a little," Caroline was already jotting a note in her planner.

"Sure, Thursday sounds great. See you tomorrow Care."

Elena dug her keys out of her purse, when she got to her car and opened the door she saw a beautiful flower arrangement on her driver's seat with a small note attached to it.

_Dear Elena,_

_Thinking of you. See you tonight, hope you're hungry. _

_ Yours,_

_ Damon_

Her heart skipped a beat when she read his note. She knew Damon could be sweet and thoughtful, but she didn't know he could be so romantic. She had a feeling she was going to learn a lot about the man she thought she knew everything about. She took her ring off of her necklace and put it back on her finger, admiring it for a moment. She buckled her flowers into the passenger seat and hurried to the boarding house as fast as she could, anxious to thank Damon for her surprise.

When she arrived there was a fire crackling in the fire place and a bottle of wine and two glasses set out on the dining room table. She followed the rustling noises she heard in the kitchen. Damon was pulling plates down from the cabinet when he heard the faint clink of glass from Elena setting her flowers on the counter.

"Perfect timing," he smiled. "Dinner is just about ready."

"What are we having?" she asked as she came up behind him, circling her arms around his waist and resting her cheek against his back.

"Chicken parmesan."

"Mm, my favorite," she said, her stomach rumbling in anticipation. "Thank you for my flowers, they're beautiful."

"You're welcome," he said turning to face her and bring her lips to his for a sweet kiss. "How was your work day?"

"It was good, I got interrogated by Caroline. We have to tell her soon, I don't know how much longer I can hold her off."

"About that…" he said, continuing to prepare their plates, "I might have let our secret slip a couple of times today."

"To who?" she asked, hoping it wouldn't somehow find it's way back to Caroline. She uncorked the wine and poured a glass for each of them. The dining room table was enormous, but she set their glasses right next to each other, not wanting to be that far from him.

"Mrs. Flowers, and some other people I saw in town," he didn't want to tell her that he had to broadcast their engagement to a bunch of women who pretty much hit him up for sex.

"Katherine Pierce, by chance?" Elena asked, raising an eyebrow.

"How did you know about that?" he tried to remain calm, but he was thinking of all the ways he could get rid of that shrew of a woman without being caught.

"Caroline and I saw her at Mabel's when we were having lunch," Elena shrugged.

"And?" Damon pressed, "what did she say? Damnit, I told that bitch to stay away from you. I didn't think she would stalk you, I'm really sorry baby."

"Hey," Elena said calmly, wrapping her arms around his neck, "it's ok, I'm not mad. I feel bad for her. She's so bitter and angry. I wonder what happened to her to make her like that."

"You really are something else," Damon laughed, kissing her nose. "Dinner is served," he said, changing the subject.

"This looks amazing," and she was sure it would taste amazing, too, "thank you," she leaned in for another kiss.

"My pleasure," he said huskily, "you know this whole reverse gender dynamic is pretty hot. You coming home to me after conquering the publishing world, I like it."

"I'd hardly call it conquering," Elena laughed, sliding into the seat next to him, "you do make a pretty cute house husband though."

"I'm not cute," he scoffed, "golden retrievers are cute. I'm more in the devilishly handsome category."

"Do forgive me then," Elena giggled, "you make a devilishly handsome house husband."

"Much better," he said, wagging his eyebrows at her and grinning impishly.

After dinner he led her upstairs to his room and ran a hot bath for them. She wanted bubbles so he let her use her insanely over-scented bath salts. He undressed her slowly, taking in her every feature. When she slipped into the water he tossed his clothes off haphazardly and slid in behind her, hugging her from behind.

"This is wonderful," she sighed, letting all of the tension seep from her stiff muscles.

"We need to get some more masculine bath stuff," he said, rubbing her shoulders as she let her head fall back against him. They enjoyed each other's silent company, just relaxing in each other's arms.

"What are you thinking about?" she asked him, letting her eyes drift closed to the sound of his heartbeat.

"That I can't believe how lucky I am."  
"When did things change for you?"

"I've always loved you."

"But when did it change to wanting to be together like this?"

"When we were living in that crappy shoe-box sized walk-up in downtown Durham." She giggled when she thought about that apartment, it was advertised as a 'spacious 2-bedroom, 1-bath gentrified, luxury apartment in the heart of Durham's cultural district.' It was barely 800 square feet in all and re-defined compact living. One side overlooked and old run-down railroad station, while the other gazed out onto the top floor of the neighboring parking structure. It wasn't even really an apartment, so much as it was a refurbished brick warehouse broken up into living units. "It had that annoying open-rafter ceiling and it was a bitch to heat in the winter time."

"I remember it was always freezing in there." She didn't mind the cold because it gave her an excuse to find her way to his room and cuddle with him at night.

_Flashback_

"Lena?" Damon called out, dropping his messenger bag next the door and shaking the snowflakes out of his hair. "You home?"

"Hey, Damon," she called out. Damon looked over and saw her stretched out on the throw rug in the living room on her stomach. She was working on something on her laptop. He noticed that she was wearing one of his Blue Devils lacrosse jerseys. He froze for a moment and just stared at her long chestnut hair falling across the lettering across her shoulders that said _SALVATORE_. He felt a strange constriction in his chest that he hadn't felt before. He shrugged it off and slipped out of his leather jacket.

"What are you working on?" he asked, trying to figure out what had her so interested.

"Come here," she said, jumping up to sit on the couch and setting her computer on her knees. She smiled patted the spot on the couch next to her, "sit." He sat down next to her and stretched his arms along the back of the couch.

"Nice shirt, by the way," he smirked.

"Oh, you don't mind do you?" she asked looking down at the jersey. "All my long-sleeved shirts are in the wash." Really, she just liked wearing it.

"Not at all," Damon replied, "so what's up?"

"Ok, hear me out before you say no, ok?" she wanted to make sure she got her whole argument in before he declined.

"Ok," he motioned for her to continue.

"K, so, you know how when it started snowing the doves moved in to the rafters?"

"Lena, they're not doves, they're disgusting street pigeons."

"They're feral rock doves, Damon. Anyways, like I was saying, they're living in the rafters now and we can't really kick them out in the snow. So I think we should build them a house, that way they can stay warm during the winter."

"No, no," Damon shook his head, "no way in hell Lena. They're dirty and they probably are spreading SARS and all sorts of other crap all around our apartment. I already called pest control to come on Monday and take care of them."

"WHAT!? Damon, no, they're going to kill them! You have to cancel, Damon!" she cried.

"Elena, it's unsanitary. They can't stay here," he defended himself.

"That's not fair Damon, they just need a warm place to stay. Please cancel the exterminator, please, please, please," Elena pleaded, giving him the best sad face she could.

"Ugh, Lena," Damon dropped his head against the back of the couch, "they're just pigeons."

"They're living creatures!" her eyes were welling up with tears, and she knew he wouldn't hold out much longer. "Please Damon," she sniffled. He glared at her carefully for a few seconds.

"Fine," Damon caved, "fine! I'll cancel, but that doesn't mean they can stay."

"Before you say that, look at _this_," she said as she turned her computer screen to him dramatically and doing her best Vanna White impression. He looked at the screen to see a massive, three-story, craftsman-style birdhouse… no, bird mansion. "I thought we could build this for them."

"You want to build this," he gestured to the computer screen, "for the feathered rats squatting in our ceiling?"

"Yeah," she looked at him like he was intellectually impaired, "it would be so much fun and they would love it."

"Lena, this would take hours and we don't have any supplies here," he said after examining the plans for the house.

"I've got that covered, I stopped by the hardware store on the way home and the guy who works there helped me find everything on the list."

"I bet he did," he grumbled quietly. "Why do you want to build this one, can't we just give them an cardboard box or something?"

"I guess, but you're taking all those carpentry classes this quarter so I figured you could put all those skills to work."

"You've lost your mind, you know that right?" he said rolling up his sleeves, already knowing that this birdhouse was happening whether he liked it or not. "Let's see these plans."

"Yes!" she jumped over to him and kissed him on the cheek, "thank you Damon!" She handed him a stack on blueprints she had printed out earlier and brought several bags of supplies out of her room and spread them out on the counter. She tossed her hair into a messy bun and got them both a can of Coke for their work session. He laid out the plans and organized the pre-measured frame pieces.

"I was thinking we could use mortise and tenon joints on the corners to stay with the Arts & Crafts theme," she remarked. He almost dropped the two pieces of plywood he was gluing together and looked over at her with a shocked expression on his face. "What?" she asked self-consciously.

"How do you know about mortise and tenon joints and the Arts & Crafts movement?" he had studied it in drafting, but he knew it wasn't a common knowledge type of thing.

"The whole freshman winter showcase last year was Arts & Crafts. Unlike _you_, I actually had a good time and read all the placards." Damon had a few pieces in the showcase, but his parents were too busy to come down for it. He was going to blow the whole thing off until Elena was assigned to cover the show for the school paper and found out Damon was exhibiting his projects. She asked him to be her date to the show and spent the whole evening dragging him from piece to piece. He pretended that he didn't want to be there, but he loved it that Elena was so excited about it. She was the only one who showed any interest in the things he liked to do. His father and Stefan thought his major was a waste of time and never hesitated to tell him, his mother was pushing him to take an internship with one of her friend at Merrill-Lynch, and his friends just wanted to drink and party.

"Want to put the screws in?" he offered, seeing how excited she was about the project.

"Ok, but I don't know how," she shrugged.

"Come here," he waved her over. She stood next to him along the counter and he handed her the drill. He moved to stand behind her and put his arms alongside hers, covering his hands with hers. "Put the bit right there, then just press the button," he said, moving his hands back to her elbows. She squeaked at the noise of the tool at first, but smiled radiantly at him when she finished the piece. "Perfect," he commented, not sure is he was referring to her or her work.

They worked for a few more hours and were putting the finishing touches on the exterior in the early morning hours.

"I, for one, think they're going to love it," Elena beamed at their handiwork.

"They better, our little avian squatters have a nicer place than we do."

"I think we should call it _Feathering Heights_."

"But of course, an estate like this deserves a name."

"Can we put it up for them?" Elena asked, and almost on cue one of the pigeons cooed in the rafters.

"Might as well, can you hand me the hammer?" he carried the house over the corner and hopped on one of the barstools to get the height he needed to secure it in place. He put a few nails into the floor and walls to make sure it wouldn't fall down and jumped off the stool to make sure everything was straight and level. He was a bit of a perfectionist, and by a "bit" he was obsessive about it. "We're probably the only ones with the pigeon Playboy mansion in our living room," he commented but got no response. "Lena?" he asked. He went to stand over the couch where she was curled up with her back to him and sound asleep. He got her throw blanket off of her bed and brought it back out to cover her up. He stood for a second staring at her, still wearing _SALVATORE_ across her back and he threw the blanket on one of the nearby chairs. Something had changed for him throughout the course of the night, he had always thought Elena was hot and fun to be around, but clad in his jersey with a few stray pieces of saw dust in her hair she was truly beautiful. Instead of leaving her on the couch he picked her up gently to carry her to his room. They slept in the same bed all the time so he didn't think she would mind.

He pulled his blankets back and set her down carefully, she just groaned and snuggled into the pillow. He kicked off his boots and shed his jeans, climbing into bed in his boxers and a t-shirt. He pulled her against him, and she opened her eyes.

"Sorry I fell asleep," she mumbled, rubbing her eyes, "did you put it up?"

"I did, I think it's a big hit. They were fighting over who got the loft."

"I'm glad they like it," she noticed that she was in his bed and sat up to go to her room, "I'm going to head for bed."

"You can stay in here if you want, it's pretty cold and you're going to end up in here eventually."

"Ok," she grinned, without putting up a fight at all and flopped back into the pillows. "Goodnight Damon."

"Goodnight Lena," he smiled and clicked off the lamp and was lulled to sleep by the rhythm of her soft breaths.

_Present_

"I really did think you were crazy, but I would have turned that whole apartment into a bird house if you asked me to," he chuckled.

"Good to know," she said cheekily.

"What about you?"

"I had a crush on you since you risked dying of cooties to kiss me. But it changed when I saw how well you took care of Stefan after your parents passed away."

"We didn't have anyone else," Damon said sadly. "And Stef could barely tie his shoes, still can't actually." He was using humor to avoid a serious conversation again, but Elena wasn't going to let that stop her.

"You were so strong for him though. You handled every detail so he could focus on the company. I know you hated doing it but you never complained. You were the only thing holding him together after that. He looked up to you so much when we were kids, but after the only thing that kept him going was not wanting to disappoint you. Then you let him have the spotlight as the prodigy-cum-CEO."

"I was never interested in any of that," he said, shifting her slightly against his chest.

"Why not?" she had never broached the subject about his withdrawal from his family's company. All she knew was that he was removed from the line of succession when he was 18, but he seemed perfectly fine with it. It was always a touchy subject between him and his father and they got along a lot better if it wasn't brought up.

"I always thought it was stuffy and boring. I was thrilled that Stefan turned out to be a hyperactive, type-A corporate pit bull and I was more than happy to sign my share holdings over to him."

"You signed _all_ of your shares over to him?" Elena was a little shocked, she knew that Stefan had gotten a sweet deal off of his brother, but she had no idea that it was that lucrative.

"Not all, I kept just enough to ensure that I'd never have to go to work for my baby brother," he said, cringing at the thought of Stefan being his boss, "I wanted to enjoy college since it's the first thing I ever worked hard for. I wanted to play baseball and lacrosse, go on road trips, and pull all-nighters, not go to battle with a bunch of millionaire douche bags about their investments. Dad worked 14-hour days routinely and he was in New York for the majority of the week. When he would come home he and Mom would have dinner together and then he'd go right back to his conference calls in the study. When they went on vacation it was always to some corporate retreat or benefit dinner. That's not the kind of lifestyle I wanted."

"What kind did you want?" of all the things she knew about Damon, they'd never had a conversation like this before.

"Honestly?" she nodded, encouraging him to go, "This right here."

"Are you still happy with your decision?" she asked warily. Giving up tens of millions of dollars a year to spend a quiet evening in Mystic Falls seemed like an uneven trade off.

"Besides asking you to marry me and rescuing Carmen from the junk yard, it was the best decision I ever made," he kissed her shoulder softly. "Stefan's happy, I'm happy, the company is doing well, it's a win-win. And I got the girl." They relaxed in each other's arms for a few more silent minutes.

"Do you think people are going to think we're crazy?" she asked him.

"Probably," he replied, leaning his chin on her shoulder. "By 'people' do you mean your brother?"

"Maybe," she muttered. Damon and Jeremy had never really gotten along, but high school had been enough to turn them into near-mortal enemies. Elena was sure there was a story there, but she didn't think she wanted to know. "Are we crazy?" she hesitated for a moment.

"Yeah, probably," he answered in the same certain tone, "people expect it from me though. You, on the other hand, we're going to have to work on your explanation a little."

"We can tell them you bewitched me with your _savoir faire_ in the bedroom."

"Well that's a given," he replied, not thinking of anything better. He liked the sassy new Elena, she could give as good as she got. Their new uncensored racy back and forth was exciting. "I'm ready to get out of here, how about you?"

"I'm too comfortable," she whined, not wanting to move.

"We can get comfortable in bed," he offered.

"Yeah right," she snorted, "like that would happen."

"You're right, I need my nightly dose of Elena," he growled, nibbling on her shoulder and making her twitter in delight. "You. Bed. Stat." he demanded. They stood from the tub together and she blushed at her nakedness, she grabbed a fluffy white towel from the rack and wrapped herself up, bouncing into the bedroom and jumping on the bed. He followed soon after and settled next to her.

"Thank you for tonight," nestled close to him, kissing his neck. She bit down gently on the soft skin under his jaw and he had her under him in an instant.

"I wanted you all day," he growled, returning her kisses and pressing his hips into hers so she could feel just how much he wanted her. "I need you."

"Then take me," she said hoarsely, already shaking in anticipation. He interlocked their fingers and pressed her hands into the pillow on either side of her head. He gently pressed into her until they were completely joined. The night before he had been too overcome with the situation to take it slow, but he wanted to draw out their coupling tonight. He set a slow, deep pace and she lifted her hips to match his cadence. She wriggled her hands free to run them down the hard planes of his back and shoulders. With his hands now free as well he ran one down her side only to stop at her the back of her knee. He slowly stroked the soft skin there before quickly pulling her leg up the rest at his waist.

"God, Damon," she gasped at the sudden change in angle. She could feel the familiar tension in her belly like a rope being stretched taut and knew she was nearing her climax. Each time he surged forward he caressed the spot deep within her that sent tingles across every nerve ending in her body. As the sensations built within her she caught her bottom lip between her teeth to stop from crying out, biting down so hard she was certain it would be swollen in the morning. He ran his thumb over her lips, freeing it from the grasp of her teeth.

"It's just us baby," he panted, "I want to hear you." The sound of his voice was enough to make her come undone and she arched her back into him, mewling his name. She pulled at his hair, yanking his lips to hers for a passionate kiss that pushed him over the edge.

He collapsed onto her chest and couldn't muster the energy to roll off of her, so instead he settled between her breasts to catch his breath. He felt light-headed as he came down from his peak. The rhythmic rise and fall of her chest comforted him and he could hear her heart gradually slow to a steady pace. She ran her fingers through his hair until her hand stilled at the nape of his neck, rubbing the muscles there gently.

"I love you, Damon," she whispered and kissed the crown of his head.

"I love you, too" he murmured before quickly falling into a deep sleep. She lay awake for a short time longer, continuing to massage his neck until she was sure he was asleep. She reached the blankets as best she could despite being pinned under his weight and pulled the covers around them. She held him in a tight embrace as she drifted off.

Sometimes well after he fell asleep Damon awoke groaning in pain. He had a pounding headache and ringing in his ears. He rolled out of bed, hissing when his feet hit the cold ground. He looked over his shoulder to make sure he hadn't woken Elena and padded to the bathroom. When he flicked on the light he felt a sharp pain sear through his retinas and he immediately turned the switch off, opting instead to fumble through the medicine cabinet in the dark to find some aspirin. He accidentally knocked one of the shelves out of the cabinet and sent the metal panel crashing into the sink. The noise seemed to thunder through his skull and he had to bite his lip to keep from swearing aloud.

"Damon?" Elena called sleepily from the bedroom. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," he said, leaning his hands against the counter as a wave of nausea hit him, "I'll be right back in." His ruse must have been convincing because he didn't hear her reply. He waited a few moments and attempted to find the aspirin again. Once he was successful he downed two pills with a small swig of water and lumbered back to bed. He flopped onto the mattress, not trusting his balance enough to make a graceful entrance.

"Is everything ok?" Elena asked in a concerned tone.

"Perfectly fine," he replied, kissing her on the cheek, "go back to sleep."

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**A/N: So I decided at the last minute to switch the order of the chapters up a bit to make it flow a little better. So (for reals this time) next up: D/E reveal their engagement, Jeremy confronts Damon, Elena actually gets to drive the Camaro *gasp*... Stay tuned lovely peeps :) xoxo**


	6. Chapter 6: Family Ties

_Hi again everyone! I can't believe how many people are reading this story. It is so incredible! I have always loved writing but I was really nervous about putting my work out there (I think we can all relate to that) but you guys are the most amazingly supportive crowd. I wish I could send you all a basket of puppies :) Anyways, here's the big reveal... angst alert!_

_noobishere- Omg, your review made me lol... literally! Nothing too tragic, I couldn't so that to them ;)_

_CosmicButton- All's well that end's well, I hope that's not giving too much away._

_Alice- Thank you times a million! I can't resist D/E fluffiness :)_

_creaturefear31- Don't be sad! We'll also get into why Jeremy and Damon are at odds, I hope you enjoy it!_

_CharlSmith- No death, duly noted ;) I'm glad you liked Steroline, I think they complement each other so well. Thank you for the great review :)_

_Amanda- Thank you so much! Unfortunately, we've got a little more suspense in this chapter._

_anon- We'll dive into what's wrong with Damon in the next chapter._

_Guest- I went out on a limb with the proposal, it seemed just crazy enough for Damon to do._

_AlyssaIanSomerhalder- Had to get some good girl time in. I'm glad you are enjoying the story and thank you againf or the kind words, it means a lot to me :)_

_Angelfan984- New chapter for you ;) We'll get more about Damon in the next chapter (tomorrow, I promise!)_

_Abgypig84- Yep, Elena gets Carmen's keys for probably the first and last time ever ;) I'm glad you're enjoying the story so far!_

_kaybaby1127- No babies, not yet anyways. I'm really glad you liked the chapters. Damon and his headaches will all be revealed tomorrow :) _

_bellax0xchristina- I love the idea of Elena having the Petrova Fire, the confrontation with Katherine was probably my favorite part to write so far :) I hope the Jeremy-Damon confrontation doesn't disappoint!_

_DISCLAIMER: I do not own the Vampire Diaries, the characters, or their likenesses. No copyright infringement intended._

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Elena stood silently in the doorway to the study, leaning against the frame, watching Damon work at his desk. It had been a few days since he'd proposed and she was still waiting to wake up from her dream. They hadn't left the boarding house much, and had spent most of their time getting to know each other as lovers. The days were full of little silent moments like this that she hadn't known she was missing until she lived them. He had his drafting kit out and there were supplies and crumpled papers strewn about his work area, marking a departure from his usually fastidious methods. The small desk lamp cast a shadow over what he was working on. She admired the way his shoulders moved with his strokes on the paper and how his finger tips would be dyed with ink for the next few days, as they always were after he caught a bought of creativity. She loved how his ideas would consume him and carry him off to a different world; she so rarely got to see him focused like this, and she found it to be incredibly alluring.

"You startled me," he said, setting down his pen and stretching his cramped fingers as she leaned over the back of his chair and dropped her arms around his shoulders.

"Sorry," she apologized as she kissed his temple softly, "what are you working on?"

"Just some projects I've been thinking about, nothing important. What are you up to?"

"I was just milling about looking for something to read and I saw this hot guy in the study."

"Elena, why didn't you tell me there was an intruder in the house?" he said with mock panic.

"Aww, handsome and funny, how did I get so lucky?" she said.

"Yeah, you hit the jack pot."

"Did I mention incredibly cocky?"

"You love it," he said leaning his head back against her shoulder.

"I love you," she corrected him, kissing his smiling lips.

"I love you, too, fiancée," he grabbed her wrist and turned his chair, bringing her to sit on his lap. He brushed her long hair out of the way and kissed her shoulder.

"Caroline just called, the restaurant had to move our reservation back a half hour."

"Dinner… right," Damon said guiltily.

"Did you forget we are supposed to have the big engagement reveal tonight?"

"I'm sorry, baby, I really am. There's just been so much going on in the last few days." Truth be told, dinner wasn't the only thing he had forgotten, he also lost his keys, misplaced his phone, and was still trying to find his checkbook that disappeared last week.

"Don't be sorry, I've got it all covered. There's a clean shirt in your closet and I already made sure it matches my dress."

"_Our_ closet," he corrected her gently, kissing her again. She surprised him by weaving her fingers through his hair and deepening their kiss. He moved his hands up her thighs, pushing her dress up inch by inch. "You should wear dresses more often." His hands reached the edges of her panties and he ran his fingertips lightly against her core.

"God," Elena gasped leaning against his shoulder. Four days ago if someone told her she'd be on Damon's lap getting felt up in the study she would have called them delightfully deranged. Not that she hadn't wanted that, she just hadn't expect the dynamic of their relationship to change so quickly. When she really thought about it though, nothing much had changed. They were much the same as they always had been, sans the intense sexual tension that had followed them around for the past few years. As with everything between them, this just felt natural.

"You can just call me Damon, you know," he smirked. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say you want me right now," he whispered huskily into her ear, gently cupping her intimate region in his hand. "Am I wrong?"

"No, you're not wrong," Elena meant to sound strong but it came out more like a plea. "Please…"

"Please, what my dear?" he asked and she could hear the infuriating smugness in his voice. He had always loved pushing her buttons and getting her riled up, he found that he loved seducing her and turning her on even more.

"Touch me. I want you Damon."

He stood up to place her on his desk. He pushed her dress up farther around her waist, revealing her simple white cotton panties. She moved to pull his shirt over his head but he grabbed her wrists to still her movements and brushed a light kiss against each of her palms.

"No, Lena, let me take care of you. Lay back." He gently pushed her back on his desk and knelt before her, pulling her panties down slowly. He kissed up the inside of her thighs just as slowly, loving the way she trembled under his touch. "What are you doing?" she stammered, pushing herself up on her elbows to look at him and trying to wriggle out of his grasp.

"I want to taste you," he answered, looking up at her with dark eyes. He kissed her everywhere except where she wanted him most.

"Damon," she moaned, "please." Her legs were shaking with the desire she felt course through her veins and her breaths were coming in choppy pants, making her feel a little light-headed. She needed him, now. He ran his tongue firmly against her core and her elbows gave out from under her. He used one hand to press down her hips onto the desk and the other to caress her gently. He slowly thrust two fingers into her core and lapped at her small bundle of nerves. She buried her fingers in his thick hair to keep her purchase on reality, which was quickly unraveling.

"Mmmmm, Damon, oh my god," she gasped at the flood of sensations that crashed into her. He moved his fingers more quickly, curling them slightly to hit her most sensitive spot and closed his lips around her swollen bud. She thrashed her head as the feeling of Damon's mouth on her became almost too much to bear. Her spine arched of its own volition and she screamed his name. He felt her walls clamp down around his fingers and her warm juices spill out onto his hands. She tightened her grip on his hair, pulling as she rode out her orgasm. When her body stilled he stood to collect her shivering form from his desk and sat back in the chair, holding her on his lap and stroking her back.

"You're exquisite," he whispered in her ear, making her quiver.

"Oh my… that was… incredible," she panted, lying limp in his arms. She felt dazed and noted that her legs were completely numb. He brought her lips to his and kissed her deeply so that she could taste herself on his tongue. His hands were already roaming her body. She yelped when he clutched her breast and he soothed it with a soft caress.

"Those little sounds you make are making me needy," he mumbled against her lips. "You drive me crazy, Elena," he nipped at her lip to emphasize his point. She could feel her skin heating up again and she felt like would evaporate if they continued any longer.

"We should really get ready to go," she said, still kissing him and not making any effort to get up.

"We should," he agreed.

"We're going to be late," she added and brushed her tongue against his.

"So late," he stood and wrapped her legs around his waist, exiting the study slowly and heading for the bedroom, never breaking their kiss. It wouldn't hurt to be a _little_ late, everyone else had so much catching up to do they probably wouldn't even notice if the pair didn't arrive on time.

After a frenzied roll in the sheets and getting carried away in the shower (twice), Damon and Elena were _very_ late for their dinner. When they arrived at the restaurant Caroline, Stefan, Jeremy, Ric, Jenna, Matt, and Bonnie were all already well-immersed in conversation and working through a second round of drinks and appetizers. Caroline loved a good get together and had rented out a private room at the restaurant so they wouldn't disturb the other patrons.

"Elena! Damon!" Caroline squealed, "about freaking time! We are all dying to know why you wanted to get us together!"

Elena suddenly felt very nervous, as she stood before all of the people she loved most in her life. She didn't know how they would all react to the news of her and Damon's engagement. Caroline, she knew, would be thrilled and start wedding plans immediately; in fact she'd probably have a theme and colors picked out before they left tonight. After eavesdropping on Damon and Stefan's conversation, she was sure the younger Salvatore would be happy. Ric and Jenna would love any excuse for a party. Matt's biggest concern would be who to bring as his date and whether Damon would be making him rent a tux or not. Then there was Jeremy and Bonnie. They were two peas in a grouchy pod when it came to their vehement dislike of Damon. Elena didn't know what Damon had ever done to deserve their scorn, but scorned he was. She was excited to see her big brother since this was the first time he had been home since the fall term started a few months ago, but she knew he wasn't going to take their news well.

Damon could sense the anxiety coming off of Elena in waves; he gently squeezed her hand in reassurance. She turned to look at the man next to her and the love radiating from his eyes and his smile was enough to make her forget about her brother and Bonnie. She knew that she was making the right decision. She loved the man standing to her right with all her heart and nothing made her happier than knowing that her feelings were reciprocated. She nodded slightly to him with a smile.

"Sorry we're late," Elena apologized to Caroline, "we got held up at home." Caroline perked up with the mention of _we_ and _home_ and she knew she had been right about the two.

"So are two dating now or something?" Jeremy asked dismissively, motioning towards their joined hands briefly and crossing his arms back over his chest.

"Or something," Damon smirked. He knew he shouldn't cause a scene with Elena's older brother, but he couldn't help but be a little smug. After years of threatening him to stay away from Elena, Jeremy would finally get to see how wrong he had been. His only hope was that he would be on the receiving end of Jeremy's displeasure, and not Elena.

Elena looked once more to Damon for encouragement. He urged her on with a slight nod and another light hand squeeze. "Actually, Damon and I are engaged."

Seven jaws simultaneously dropped, and while five slowly curled into broad smiles, two remained in pure shock.

Caroline was the first to break the silence, and break it she did. "Elena Gilbert! You get engaged and are just now telling me about it! We have so much to do and we've already wasted so much time! Do you guys have a date for the wedding? A venue? Oh my gosh, a spring wedding at the Falls! You could go with a palate of light and dark greens! It would be perfect!" She hugged Damon, nearly choking him with her enthusiasm and then hugged Elena. "I love weddings! I love you guys!"

"Thank you Care," Elena laughed struggling to breathe in Caroline's smothering hug. She was so glad to have a best friend like Caroline in her life.

"Where's Jenna?" Caroline asked looking around, when she saw Elena's aunt she skipped over to her pushing Alaric out of his seat next to his fiancée, "ok, where do we start?" she babbled excitedly whipping a notebook out of her purse and discussing ideas with Jenna.

"Congratulations brother," was Stefan's simple statement when he hugged his brother. Elena rarely saw the two brothers hug, and was glad that Stefan was on their side. "Mom would be proud," he said more quietly to Damon. The elder Salvatore nodded his head and gave his brother a final pat on the back.

"So officially a Salvatore, huh Elena?" Stefan smiled as he hugged her, "Good to know someone will be keeping Damon in check. Welcome to the family sister." Elena hugged Stefan tightly. She knew he loved his big brother and she couldn't be happier that he had accepted her into their lives with open arms.

Jenna and Ric looked every part the beaming parent and best friend. Ric and Matt joked about bachelor party plans. Elena could only make out the words "Las Vegas" and "American Express" and figured whatever they were putting together would be legendary. She didn't mind, as long as Damon had a good time… and they brought back pictures.

It wasn't long before they were pulled in different directions and drawn into conversations with their friends. Everyone once in a while their eyes met and Damon would flash her one of his famous smiles that made her blush. He seemed different in her eyes, while he had always been happy-go-lucky for the most part, he was usually sarcastic and snarky and kept people at arm's length. Seeing him now with his head thrown back in genuine laughter at something Ric said made her fall in love with him all over again.

Elena was trying to make her way to the door for some air when she bumped into Bonnie. She was really hoping that her friend wouldn't make a scene, considering how much she disliked Damon. Much to Elena's surprise Bonnie wrapped her arms around her and gave her a strong hug.

"You seem happy Lena," Bonnie said after letting go of her friend.

"I am happy, beyond happy," Elena smiled brightly, unable to hide her elation.

"I'm glad," Bonnie shifted awkwardly on her heels, "are you sure you're not rushing into though? It's a little, well a lot, fast."

"I know, and I know it's crazy, trust me just saying it out loud sounds insane," Elena smiled, "but it just feels _right_. He makes me happy, Bonnie, happier than I've been in a long time. I feel like this is what we were meant for."

"You really love him, don't you?" Bonnie asked thoughtfully, clearly seeing the transformation in Elena's demeanor. She seemed lighter and freer with Damon, and a small part of her was thankful to the man for that.

"I do," she giggled thinking about when she and Damon would exchange those same words.

"Well, for the record, I still don't like him, but I'm glad he makes you happy. You really deserve it Lena."

"Thank you," Elena said earnestly feeling like this was as close as she was going to get to having Bonnie's blessing and it meant a lot to her. "Give him a chance?" she asked tentatively.

"Not likely," Bonnie replied with a soft smile, "how about a truce?"

"That works for me." Bonnie hugged her one last time before excusing herself from the party, something about her Grams needing help with some old books. Elena stepped outside briefly; she was feeling a little overwhelmed from all the attention and just needed to take a beat. She was relieved that things went so well with Bonnie and foolishly hoped that Jeremy might be as accepting. Wrapping her sweater tightly around her, she heard the door open and footsteps approaching.

"We need to talk," her brother's stern voice came from behind her.

"About what, Jer?" she rolled her eyes, knowing this moment was coming, if his glares in the restaurant had been any indication of how he felt about her news.

"The weather," Jeremy scoffed, "what do you think?"

"Jer—"

"What are you thinking Elena?!" he interrupted her, "Damon Salvatore? Does he even know what a functional relationship is? He slept with every girl in your dorm, and you're going to marry him?"

"People change. I know his track record is a little spotty but—"

"That's bullshit Elena, you're lying to yourself if you think he's just going to magically become Prince Charming overnight. I'm sure you guys will be really happy for a few months, but then what's to stop him from going back to day drinking and bedding the lonely housewives of Mystic Falls, huh?"

"He would never do that."

"That's what he does, Elena! He's a dick and he's not good enough for you."

"He's perfect for me. I appreciate your concern—"

"I am not doing this to be the protective big brother," he interrupted her again, growing more angrier by the moment, "I'm doing this because you're being rash and stupid. You're going to marry someone who has never shown any initiative or motivation in his entire life. He didn't even want to go to college until he followed you like a puppy. You had big dreams Elena. Remember New York? San Francisco? You wanted to get out of this town and become a big writer. Are you really going to give that up for some playboy womanizer like him?"

"Damon would never ask me to give up something like that, but yes I would," she replied with tears stinging her eyes. It made her furious to hear her brother be so unfair to Damon when he wasn't even present to defend himself. Her reply only made Jeremy angrier.

"Who are you?!" he shouted, throwing his hands in the air, "you know as well as I do that at the end of the day he's perfectly happy here milling around town enjoying the trust fund that was handed to him. He doesn't know what hard work and sacrifice are. He's too selfish to give that up if you were to get a job offer someone else."

"That is _not_ true Jeremy. Damon is _not_ selfish," she leapt to Damon's defense. "I love him, why can't you just accept that and be happy for me?"

"Because I am looking out for you. I want what's best for you and I think that's not Damon. You were raised better than to settle. What do you think Mom and Dad would say?"

"They loved Damon! I think they'd be thrilled to have him in the family," she felt a small stab of grief thinking about the moments she'd never have with her parents. She'd never get to pick out a dress with her mother or practice her father-daughter dance. "He's been my rock Jeremy, after you went back to California I would have been alone if it wasn't for him. He's been there for me through everything; him and Stefan have been like family since you left. All I am asking it that you respect that."

"You're delusional. Is that what this is all about? Getting a new family? Are you that afraid of being alone?" As soon as the words left Jeremy's mouth Elena reeled back as though she'd been hit and he regretted it immediately. The tears she had been holding back spilled from her eyes and rolled down her cheeks. She opened her mouth to say something and nothing came out.

"Lennie, I—" Jeremy said softly knowing he had gone too far, but Elena shied away from him and held up her hand trying to hide her tears. Then _he_ was there, to save her like he always had done.

"I think you've said enough Gilbert," Damon said in a serious tone that she had only heard him use a handful of times. He walked up confidently behind Elena and placed two comforting hands of her shoulders. "Why don't you go inside and warm up a little baby? Jenna was looking for you," he whispered in her ear. She nodded, wiping her eyes and giving her brother one last rueful glance before retreating back to the restaurant."This doesn't concern you Salvatore," Jeremy sneered, narrowing his eyes at the man whose gaze was following his sister carefully.

"Really?" Damon turned to face him after making sure Elena was safely out of earshot, "Is there another Damon Salvatore in town? Because I could have sworn you were talking about me."

"This is between me and my sister. What are you, anyways, her bodyguard?"

"No," Damon shook his head, "but you're being a dick to my fiancée, and I don't appreciate it."

"Don't," Jeremy spat in disgust holding his hand up, "do not call my sister that."

"Fine, if that will make you happy," Damon shrugged casually, "you're being a dick to your little sister, and I _still_ don't appreciate it. And when you put it that way, it actually makes you sound like _even_ more of an asshole. You crossed the line, Gilbert. That family comment was low, even for you."

"You are an arrogant fucking prick, you know that?"

"Yeah, I do know that. Don't you think it's a little arrogant to tear Elena down like that and tell her what you think is best for her?"

"It's not what I _think_, it's what I _know_."

"Semantics," Damon dismissed with a wave of his hand. "You don't like me. I get it, you've made it abundantly clear… several times, actually. Truth be told, I'm not exactly your biggest fan either. I'll get over it, and if you want to be a pissy little bitch about it take it out on me, trust me, I won't lose any sleep over it; but Elena has done nothing but be supportive of you and everything you've ever wanted to do. The least you can do is show her the same respect in return."

"Because 'respect' is your middle name, isn't it Salvatore?" Jeremy spat. Jeremy and Damon were the same age; they had been in the same graduating class in high school and played varsity baseball together. He cringed at the thought of his sweet, innocent baby sister marrying the douche bag that bragged about three-ways and banging his teammates' moms in the locker room. To Jeremy, Damon Salvatore was all braggadocio and no substance… in other words, not the kind of guy he wanted to call his brother-in-law. "Or is that something else you've somehow deluded her into thinking you know anything about?"

"Look, how about we just agree to disagree on this one? We can run circles around each other arguing about this or you can just man up, accept it, put a fucking smile on, and walk your sister down the aisle when it's time."

"If you even make it that far," Jeremy was ready for a fight if that's what it took to make Elena see that she was making a bad decision. Damon was right, Elena had supported him through everything and he _did_ feel like she deserved the same in return. This had nothing to do with him hating Damon, it had everything to do with the fact that he loved Elena and didn't want to see her get her heart broken, "I mean you do understand the basic concept of being married, don't you? How long until you get bored? Six months? A year?"

"Careful Gilbert," Damon warned, his expression switching instantly from sarcasm to fierce anger. He could feel his blood boil at Jeremy's insinuation, "you better think about your next words very carefully. I won't hesitate to end you."

"Have you already found someone to keep your whores warm for you while you break Elena's heart?" Jeremy paid no mind to Damon's threat, he felt confident in his ability to handle himself against Damon and he knew he wouldn't try anything stupid around Elena. "You've had my sister wrapped around your little finger for _years_ Salvatore. So why now, huh? It wasn't enough that you stepped in and ruined any relationship she ever had with someone she actually deserved? Is she your ultimate fucking conquest? Or is she just the only one left who can stand to be around you after all the stupid shit you've done?"

"Fuck you," Damon hissed. He was desperately holding on to the last thread of self-control he had to stop their argument from escalating into an all-out fight. "My relationship with Elena is none of your damn business. You don't like it? Go fuck yourself. I love her and I'd die before I'd ever hurt her. I'm marrying her no matter what you or your bitchy little sidekick, Bonnie, have to say about it."

"If you hurt her, _ever_, I swear to God, I will find you and I will kill you," the older Gilbert seethed, loathe to accept his sister's decision to marry the man before him.

"Well, I won't, so you won't. Now, I think we're done here," Damon said with finality, hoping to end their encounter quickly. Jeremy scoffed and shook his head and went back inside mumbling something under his breath. When Jeremy was back inside and the door closed behind him Damon turned to find Elena leaning against the side of the building. The tears on her face were drying but she was shivering in the cold December breeze. The anger and rage he felt vanished and he overcome with the love he felt for her.

"Women and your fashion sweaters, you're an ice cube baby," Damon laughed shrugging out of his leather jacket and wrapping it around her shoulders. He rubbed his hands up and down her arms to warm her up. "I thought you were going to find Jenna," he didn't want to keep anything from her and he certainly meant every word he said to Jeremy, but it wasn't exactly the conversation he'd been dying for her to hear.

"Damon," she mumbled not looking up for him to see her tear-stained face.

"Elena," he copied her tone trying to lighten the mood.

"I'm… I'm sorry about Jeremy," she sounded ashamed. He put a finger under her chin and lifted her eyes to meet his own. "He doesn't know how wrong he is."

"You eavesdropped on me and my brother, it's only fair. Jeremy didn't get quite the show that Stefan did though," he smirked.

"Yeah, and Stefan wasn't a complete jerk," Elena said shaking her head, willing the tears not to come back.

"Yeah well, Stef kind of worships me," he said, desperately hoping she'd smile. When she did he forgot all about the encounter with her brother only moments before. "It's all good. What Jeremy said, it's nothing I haven't heard before. I'm sure he's just harboring some resentment about when I took his position as starting pitcher senior year. I learned to ignore what other people thought about me a long time ago. Plus, I just got engaged to this smoking hot girl so I'm not going to let a little bit of misdirected 'roid rage kink my night."

"Yeah?" Elena smiled, "does she know that you're already engaged to me?"

"And she's back," he pulled her in for a tight hug and kissed the top of her head, "no more crying, ok? I don't feel like baking when we get home tonight."

"Deal," she said as she wiped her stray mascara away. "Brownies would be amazing though."

"I'm sure I could be convinced, maybe if you promised to help," he leaned to whisper in her ear, "in nothing but your cute little pink apron with the ruffles."

"You never stop, do you?" Elena laughed, slapping his shoulder lightly.

"Eternal stud, remember? Now let's get back inside, Jenna is telling embarrassing Ric stories and I need those for later. Did you know how much he enjoys disco karaoke?"

_A few hours later_

"That was exhausting," Elena sighed leaning her head against Damon's shoulder as they walked to the car. He had his arm around her and she could barely feel the cold bite of the wind in his presence.

"I think you're going to have a hell of a time reigning Caroline and Jenna in," Damon laughed. The two women had spent the evening squawking about nosegays and fondant and a bunch of other things he had never heard of.

"No joke, I'll bet they have a plan A through D by tomorrow morning." She loved their enthusiasm, she hadn't thought much about the wedding itself, but Jenna and Caroline's excitement rubbed off on her, she would probably be picking up a few bridal magazines in the morning. "I think it went over well… generally. Bonnie hugged me, an actual hug! She stills loathes you, by the way, but she's agreed to a truce."

"Truce today, besties tomorrow. It's only a matter of time before I win Witchy over," he hesitated for a moment, not wanting to bring up Jeremy, "I know you don't want to hear it, but your brother really is just looking out for you. I see where he's coming from. His methods might be a little over-the-top but he means well. He just doesn't want to see you get hurt, and I obviously haven't earned his trust yet."

"Since when did you become so evolved?" she asked, a little taken aback.

"Since I'm pretty sure Jeremy could kick my ass without breaking a sweat. He scared in high school, but now I feel like I need to carry bear spray to protect myself."

"Would you be honest with me if I asked what the issue between you guys is?"

"I'll always be honest with you baby and the issue has always been you," he figured he might as well just cut to the chase.

"What do you mean?" she looked a little hurt, as though she felt bad for causing a rift between the two of them.

"We never got along that well to begin with, and the closer you and I became the more he disliked me. Then there was a _really_ tiny rumor that got around to a few people during my senior year that I didn't exactly go out of my way to deny. He was pretty pissed about that and punched me in the face… a few times. After that, it was pretty safe to say we weren't going to be buds ever."

"What was the rumor?" Elena asked carefully."That we were sleeping together," Elena narrowed her eyes fiercely at him, "you wanted me to be honest, so I'm being honest."

"And you didn't deny it?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"You were the hottest girl in school, straight A's, cheerleader. The fact that people actually believed that _you_ would sleep with _me_ did wonders for my ego."

"So you lied to my brother about it?"

"I didn't _lie_ to him, per se. It was an omission of facts. He asked me if it was true and I didn't deny it. He told me to stay away from you and I told him no, then I got my ass handed to me in the school parking lot and that was that."

"So let me get this straight: you let everyone believe we were romantically-involved and let my brother beat you up because of your ego?"

"Pretty much," he shrugged. "I told you I wasn't the good guy Lena."

"And Jeremy's been holding a grudge ever since?"

"I don't think he's holding a grudge, I just don't think he trusts me anymore. You're his baby sister and he's protective of you. He probably still thinks I'm the same self-centered dick I was then. It's not like we've been meeting for coffee and pastries since graduation to catch up. He loves you, too, so he's just looking out for you, and I respect that. Granted, if I didn't think he'd hospitalize me I would have punched him for making you cry."

"Thank you for using your words instead," she offered, not knowing what to say to Damon's heartfelt admission. How anyone could call him selfish was beyond her. She also didn't understand why Damon would ever need a fictional ego boost; he was devastatingly gorgeous, charming, funny, and smart, even in his "awkward" teenage years. Truth be told, if the situation had been reversed and she was in the position to deny a rumor like that she probably wouldn't have done it either.

"Are you mad?"

"No, obviously I wish you guys got along better but at least I get it now."

"Maybe someday. For what it's worth, I'm sorry I let people think I deflowered you."

"Well, you did, they were just a few years early," she laughed and playfully bumped his shoulder. He laughed along with her and pulled her closer to him to kiss her temple. He was fishing in his pocket for his keys, when he found them he handed them to her.

"Would you mind driving home baby?" Damon asked as though he couldn't believe those words had left his mouth.

"You're letting me drive _your_ car?" Elena asked in disbelief, staring at the set of keys in her hand like she'd just been handed the Holy Grail. "You've never let me drive Carmen before."

"Don't get used to it," he smirked, "I just have a bit of a headache is all."

"Again? Damon, you should really go to the doctor."

"No, no, it's nothing like that. We haven't exactly been sleeping much, I think I'm just tired."

"Well tonight, I will make sure you get _all_ the rest you need," she said, "I'll even make you breakfast whenever you wake up."

"That sounds more like a threat," he chuckled.

"Fine, I'll pick up a safe, edible breakfast at the bakery whenever you wake up."

If Damon didn't have a headache when they left the restaurant, he certainly would have by the time they got back to the boarding house. Elena seemed hell bent on grinding the gears every time she shifted and took corners way to close for his liking. She was used to driving her Escape, which was an automatic and he could tell it had been a long time since she'd driven a car with a manual transmission. He tried very hard not to lose patience with her.

"Gentle on the clutch Elena," he kept saying, "Carmen is a lady, you have to be gentle with her."

"I _am_ being gentle," she insisted. "It's not my fault that—" she was cut off by the screech of metal on metal somewhere under the floorboards.

"Arrrgh," Damon groaned pinching the bridge of his nose, "push the clutch in all the way when you shift! You're going to maim her!"

"Damnit Damon, just be quiet" Elena yelled, getting frustrated with his back seat driving, "I know how to drive!"

"This isn't just driving, this is operating a finely-tuned performance machine… and you suck at it."

"Well you suck at being a passenger!" she replied angrily.

"Elena!" he had to put his fist to his mouth to keep from yelling at her about driving too close to the curb, "watch the curbs! These rims are original, if you break them up they can't be replaced."

"Fine!" Elena yelled, trying to end the argument so she could focus on the road. "It's like freaking Driving Miss Damon," she muttered to herself.

"I heard that," he glowered at not having gotten the last word in the argument. "I think I'm rubbing off on you."

"Yeah," she scoffed, "that's the only rubbing you're getting for a while."

"Seriously?" Damon stared at her with a look of disbelief, he was shocked that Elena would be so fiery and forward about something like that, "you're going to withhold sex because I said you suck at driving?"

"No, I'm not that petty," she glared at him, "I'm going to withhold sex because you suck at being a passenger."

"Whatever you say, baby," Damon shrugged, putting his arm across the seat and his other elbow on the windowsill, "we both know you can't resist me."

"I am well-practiced in the art of resisting you. I'm sure I'll manage," she rolled her eyes.

"Yeah?" he asked, trailing a finger from the seat to her shoulder. "Do you really believe that?" he softly caressed her neck up to her ear and massaged her neck lightly. Her eyes fluttered closed for a moment but flashed back open to focus on the road.

"Yes, I really believe that," she snapped.

He unbuckled his seat belt and moved a few inches closer to her. "So you would tell me to stop if I kissed you like this?" he asked, lowering his voice to a husky timbre and kissing the spot just below her ear that he knew she loved. She stubbornly nodded her head. "What about like this?" he asked kissing her again and moving his hand to squeeze her breast and brush his thumb over the hardening peak. She bit her lip to stifle a small moan and nodded her head again. He slowly moved his hand up her thigh. She squirmed in her seat, letting her head fall back against the headrest and trying to maintain her focus. Thinking about his talented hands had her trembling with anticipation and she could feel heat pooling in her core. "But," he said, sharply pulling away before he reached where she ached for him most, "you'd probably tell me to stop that, too." He moved back to the passenger side and clicked his seat belt back in place resuming his previous position with his arm stretched along the seatback.

She shot him a deadly glare and grumbled something under her breath.

"What was that, baby?" he said putting his hand to his ear, "I couldn't hear you through all of the sexual tension in here."

"I said that you're going to regret that," she tried to sound menacing, but she didn't come off as threatening at all. Luckily, they had just reached the boarding house because she was either going to kill him or jump him if they stayed in the car any longer. He didn't even want to see what it'd be like letting her try to park his baby in the garage and told her just to leave it in the driveway. He would move the car into the garage and put the cover on after Elena fell asleep and then blame it on Stefan in the morning. He figured that Carmen had been tortured enough for the day.

When they entered the front door of the house Damon helped Elena out of her coat. As he pulled the thick wool fabric from her shoulders, he trailed feather-light kisses in its wake.

"Damon, don't start," she breathed heavily, leaning back against him.

"You suck at convincing me you want me to stop, too," he said softly.

"You—" she paused as he wrapped his arms around her waist, "you need to rest."

"I will," he mirrored her pause, taking a moment to brush her hair to the side and kiss the back of her neck, "after."

Elena turned in his arms so she was facing him. "After what?" she inquired innocently, catching her bottom lip between her teeth, knowing it drove him crazy.

"That's for me to know, and for you to dot, dot, dot," he smirked, punctuating the last part with soft kisses on his fiancée's lips. He slowly moved them so her back was against the door. His hands trailed down the back of her thighs to hoist her legs around his waist. He ground his growing arousal against her center, earning an appreciative moan from her. She tangled her fingers into his raven locks and pulled him even closer to her.

"I think it's time we give that whole fucking-against-the-front-door thing a go, don't you?" she asked coyly, nibbling his ear and sliding her hand down the front of his jeans. She was a fast learner and she knew exactly how to get him going.

"God, you make me insane," he groaned into the crook her neck. He wanted nothing more that to give that a try and act out the fantasy that played through his head approximately thirteen thousand times a day. He leaned back slightly to give her access to the buttons on his shirt that she was fumbling with and all of a sudden he felt the floor shift beneath him and a sharp pain surge down his neck. He dropped Elena and had to brace himself with both hands against the door to stop from hitting the floor. He couldn't seem to focus on what was going on around him, and could only try to fight the swirling feeling of nausea in the pit of his stomach.

"Damon!" a panicked voice caught his attention through the fog in his mind. The big brown eyes that stared back at him held such concern he knew it wasn't his imagination conjuring up what just happened, "Damon, what's wrong?"

"Nothing, just caught up in the moment with your hand down my pants," he tried to shrug it off and moved the capture Elena's lips with his own, trying to maintain the momentum they'd had. She stopped him by putting her hand against his chest.

"It's not 'nothing' Damon. Tell me what's going on now!" she demanded, steeling herself against any further debate. She was still caged between him and the door by his arms that were supporting his weight.

"I just got a little dizzy is all baby, I swear. I had a few drinks after dinner. It's no big deal."

"Damon, you almost passed out, it _is_ a big deal. You're going to the doctor first thing Monday morning."

"That's a little melodramatic, don't you think?"

"No, melodramatic would be calling 9-1-1 because my fiancée blacked out and cracked his pretty head open in the foyer."

"What are the my chances of winning this debate?" He sighed heavily.

"Painfully dismal," she replied, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

"Damnit," he swore under his breath, "fine, I'll go. Now, where were we?" he moved to kiss her again.

"Not a chance," she ducked from his advance, "you're getting a good night's rest."

"But I'm not even tired… yet," he said wiggling his eyebrows and moving his hands from the door to her hips, pulling her close to him.

"Nope," she said firmly, pushing him away from the door, "that's not going to work on me mister, so you can put the wandering hands and sexy eye thing away for some other day. You are going to go upstairs, you are going to get into bed, and you are going to sleep. Got it?"

"Fine," he whined, dramatically rolling his eyes at her. "Being dominated by you was much hotter in my head."

She took his hand in hers and led him upstairs to his bedroom. He had taken care of her so many times, it was her turn to be there for him. She got a soft grey t-shirt and a pair of flannel sleeping pants out of his dresser and handed them to him with a soft smile. She retreated to the bathroom to remove her make up and brush her teeth. When she came back out Damon was already asleep under the blankets. She looked at him lovingly, taking in how peaceful and happy he looked. She loved him so much it made her heart clench with joy, she couldn't imagine spending her life with anyone other than the beautiful man asleep before her.

"Staring isn't polite," he mumbled into the pillow sleepily, "come to bed." She grinned widely and slipped under the covers with him. He pulled her close to his chest and buried his face in her hair.

"Goodnight Damon," she whispered, but he was already fast asleep.

* * *

**A/N: Sorry to leave you hanging for another chapter in regards to Damon, but it's coming in the next post (I'm all done with finals exams, so I'll have it up tomorrow sometime). Also, I can't figure out a good, fitting pet name for Elena to give to Damon, any suggestions? Next up: Damon goes to the doctor, another flashback, general D/E adorableness... :)**


	7. Chapter 7: Stolen

_Good evening everyone! What did you all think of the mid-season finale? Here's the chapter where we find out what's been going on with Damon (don't shoot! I promise it all ends well... it wouldn't be proper D/E without a few bumps in the road). Enjoy!_

_Wilb- Thank you so much! Hope you like the new chapter :)_

_kann4890- Thank you! I like Jeremy and Bonnie's characters on the show, and their Damon hate happened to fit into the plot well, so it's a win-win :)_

_Alice- Thank you, thank you! I'm glad you liked the confrontation :) I hope Jeremy came off as a protective big brother and not just anti-Damon._

_Angelfan984- Thanks! So happy finals are over ;) I was thinking the same thing about a pet name._

_Abgypig84- We've got Elena besting Damon in this chapter. Girl power :)_

_DISCLAIMER: I do not own the Vampire Diaries, the characters, or their likenesses. No copyright infringement intended._

* * *

Elena Gilbert was many things: sister, fiancée, best friend, niece, up-and-coming journalist, but there was one thing she most certainly and emphatically was not—a morning person. Ever since she could remember she and her alarm clock had been mortal enemies. If given the opportunity to awaken in a polite, gradual manner at a reasonable hour she was a peach. If, however, she was roused ahead of schedule she was much less inclined to show mercy to the offending party. So when a loud banging abruptly dragged her from dreamland that morning it was safe to say she was in a less than hospitable mood.

"Damon? What is that?" she asked, hoping he would know what the source of the sound was and, more importantly, how to make it stop. When she got no answer she rolled over the find the other half of the bed empty, she threw herself from beneath the covers and her feet hit the floor with a growl. She stomped to the bathroom where she tore her fluffy purple bathrobe off of the rack and wrapped it around herself, shielding her from the cold. She tore down the stairs muttering inchoate curses under her breathe as she was still trying to wake up.

"Damon!" she called out, but didn't get a response. The bottom floor of the boarding house was completely silent and serene in the early in the morning light. She looked in the kitchen but all she found was a half full pot of still-hot coffee. She figured that Damon had left some for her. She got a mug from the cupboard and poured herself a cup, figuring she deserved a morning treat and she had less of a chance of killing Damon when she found him if she was caffeinated. She stood in front of the sink gazing out of the window onto the expansive lawn of the boarding house. A blanket of snow had fallen sometime during the night. Elena loved winter and the thought of having a white Christmas. She was admiring how the early morning sun shone off of the crystals that hung of the boughs of the old pine trees when she noticed that the door to Damon's workshop was open and the light was on inside.

"You've got to be kidding me," she fumed, slamming her mug down onto the counter. She found a pair of wellies in the laundry room and pulled them on before swinging the patio doors open and trudging through the snow to the workshop. As she got closer she could hear rock music playing loudly and then she heard a banging noise that was suspiciously like the one that had woken her up.

When she reached the door she peered inside to see Damon already immersed in one of his projects sanding a large piece of plywood. Usually she'd find a warm, cozy perch and watch him work but she was on a tear this morning. Between the stereo and the equipment, he hadn't heard her boots on the concrete floor. She leaned against the workbench in her best you're-going-to-be-sorry pose and hit the "off" button on the stereo. When Damon looked up to see her he turned off the sander and rubbed his hands together to brush off the sawdust.

"Good morning beautiful," he smiled charmingly, already knowing he was in big trouble by the way she was standing but trying his "get out of jail free" card anyways. Elena was usually sweet and tractable, but when she was angry she a firecracker. He had only been on the receiving end of her anger a few times, and this was definitely one of those times.

"Actually, Damon, it's not," she countered, she wanted to forget all about being angry and kiss him silly. She didn't allow herself to thaw at all despite his dashing smile. "What happened to you sleeping in and relaxing?"

"I can't sleep as long as you do Lena," he tried to defend himself. Ever since she could remember he had never slept more than a few hours a night, he was always busying himself with a new project or a book. She didn't know where he ever got his energy from. He had gotten the flu once and slept for a full eight hours and his mother almost called the doctor for a house call to make sure that Damon hadn't fallen into a coma.

"As long as I do?!" she sputtered angrily, "it's 6 AM Damon! We didn't even get to bed until after 1!"

"I wanted to get some work done before you woke up so I could spend the rest of the day having some quality time with you," if she wanted to fight with him about this, he'd play dirty. "I figured with the snow we could get the fireplace going and curl up on the couch to watch _White Christmas_, maybe get a tree later." Christmas was Elena's Achilles' heel, she had always loved to go all out holiday-central the day after Thanksgiving. Picking out a tree often became an outing of mythic proportion as she evaluated every candidate for symmetry, color, foliage, and overall splendor. Damon on the other hand, couldn't care less about the holidays: lights were a pain to hang, trees shed needles on the carpet, and wrapping presents was a waste of time and paper, but if being dragged around a Christmas tree lot would stop her from yelling at him, he'd go along with it.

"Don't give me that junk Damon, you _hate_ Bing Crosby," she knew exactly what he was trying to do but if he thought she would let it go and leap into his arms if he said a few romantic things he had another thing coming. "You are supposed to be sleeping or do you not remember almost blacking out last night? You obviously aren't feeling well, and all I asked was that you take 5 minutes to relax and get some sleep. 5 minutes! But no, here you are being your usual hyperactive self, hewing the ark at the crack of dawn."

"I feel perfectly rested Lena," she still looked at him skeptically, "I feel fine."

"You looked real fine last night," she snapped. "Or the night before that when you tore into the medicine cabinet like a grizzly bear," he looked up at her a little surprised, "or did you think I missed that?"

"Come on baby, please don't be mad at me. Now that you're up, we can go get pancakes at Mabel's," he offered as he closed the distance between them, knowing that this was his last chance to talk her down and get a stay of execution. If pancakes didn't work, he'd definitely be in doghouse. "I'm really feeling like strawberry waffles," he sing songed as he rubbed her robed upper arms tenderly. "What do you say?"

She glared at him, tapping her foot against the concrete floor. Sometimes she hated the fact that he knew her so well, this must have been exactly what Sun Tzu meant by knowing your opponent. "Fine!" she said finally, rolling her eyes at her own weaknesses, "but just for this you're going to the doctor today."

"But what about—," he began to protest.

"Ah ah, no," she cut him off, "you're going today and that's final." She turned to trudge back across the snow-covered lawn to get ready for breakfast. He sighed in defeat and followed after her. He didn't think his next move out that carefully, she was already upset with him anyways so he figured he might as well have a little fun with it. Elena froze mid-step when the snowball hit her in the back, squarely between her shoulder blades. Her thick robe blocked most of the cold but a few errant wisps of iciness made their made down the collar to melt against her skin. She turned slowly to face him, trying to be menacing.

"Did you just—?" she asked slowly, but he was already tossing another forming snowball between his hands and wearing a boyish half-smile. He launched a second snowball in her direction, hitting her in the knee and raining snow into her boots.

"Yep," he grinned.

"You are a dead man," she threatened with a glint in her eyes, unable to fight a smile forming on her lips. She took off after him at full speed, kneeling midstride to scoop a handful of snow from the ground. She let her snowball fly and hit him in the back of the neck. Damon may have been a baseball all-star in high school and college, but he'd be foolish to forget who was the one who spent hours pitching to him so he could perfect his swing.

_Flashback_

"Can't you just go to the batting cages or something?" Elena groaned pulling her pillow over her head, "I'm tired and it's like a million degrees outside."

"It's like 70," Damon countered, pulling at her wrists to get her out of bed, "the batting cages aren't the same as having a pitcher. I have to warm up for the game against NC State this weekend. Pretty please?"

"I'm tired though," she whined. He sat on the edge of her bed and ran his fingers softly across her forehead, tucking a stray piece of hair behind her ear.

"Please, Lena," he asked again, pouting slightly, "for me."

"Ugh," she grumbled, tossing her thin blanket away from her body and throwing her legs over the side of her bed, "fine! Let's go see how you still can't hit a slider."

"Yes!" he exclaimed with a small fist pump. "Thank you, no one can handle my balls like you." He half expected to get slapped for that comment, but his best friend learned to tolerate his innuendos long ago and he had to reach for ever raunchier material to get a rise out of her.

"I hate you," she mumbled as she lumbered down the hall to the bathroom to get ready.

"You love me," he called after her. She was his secret training weapon. Even though he'd never admit it to her, she pitched better than 90% of the guys he'd ever played against, and he knew that if could hit one of Elena's breaking balls he stood a better-than-fair chance of hitting anything an opposing pitcher threw at him on game day. Plus, he enjoyed watching her stretch and wind-up for her pitches.

When they arrived at the baseball diamond he dropped his bag on the bleachers and handed Elena her helmet. She had insisted on getting the bright pink one with "Pitcher's Mound Princess" on the back as a means to encourage Damon to play harder, she knew he wouldn't want anyone to see him miss a pitch thrown by a petite girl in a Barbie helmet. She stretched out her shoulders and legs and took the mesh bag full of baseballs to the pitcher's mound and got into position.

"Come on, Damon," she taunted after he missed his fifth consecutive swing, "I would say you hit like a girl, but that would imply that you are actually capable of making contact with the ball!" Few things entertained her as well as besting Damon at his own game and she could see that he was getting frustrated with his own lackluster performance. He was usually cool and collected, but he was a sore loser.

"Just throw the damn ball," Damon growled. She wound up and threw him a beautifully-aimed curveball. He swung as hard as he could, and missed… again.

"You're not even trying," she shouted at him, "Kol is going to have a field day with you this weekend." She knew that would get him riled up. Kol Mikaelson was Damon's biggest competition, not just in baseball but in most things. Like Damon, he played both baseball and lacrosse, was dangerously handsome, utterly charming, and carried himself with the same devil-may-care swagger. He was also, unfortunately for Damon, sweet on Elena. Whenever Duke and NC State played each other, Kol made a point to get into contact with Elena and take her on a spectacular, well-planned date. Perhaps more unfortunately for Damon, Elena was smitten with his Australian accent and carefree attitude. Whenever she came home after spending the evening with Kol she gave Damon a full run-down of their date, including how funny Kol is, or how charming Kol is, or how great Kol's taste in bistros is. Yeah, it was safe to say that Damon hated Kol Mikaelson.

"When did you talk to Mikaelson?" Damon asked, tossing the ball back to Elena and resuming his batting position.

"Yesterday, we're going to dinner and the Art Walk after your game," she answered as she pitched another ball to him. He swung viciously, hitting the ball over the outfield fence. "Wow," was all she could say, she'd never seen him hit that far before.

"So Mikaelson is an art connoisseur too, huh?" he asked, still bristling at the notion of Elena going on a date with his rival. He hated the idea of her giggling at another guy's jokes and sharing her dessert with someone who wasn't him. "I wonder how he found time to learn about art between his walk-about across the Outback and didgeridoo lessons," Damon mimicked in a bitter over-the-top Aussie accent. "The guy went to some snotty prep school in Melbourne, he's probably never even seen a kangaroo outside of a zoo."

"Who cares?" Elena shrugged, "he's cute."

"He's an idiot," Damon dismissed, "I can't believe you're dating one of our rivals. That's against best friend code."

"I'm not _dating_ him," Elena denied, "I am going on _a_ date with him, there's a big difference. Besides, his brother Klaus is coming for the game and wants to meet Caroline."

"A double date with Crocodile Dundee and his brother, how fantastic," Damon muttered under his breath.

"Was it not against best friend code when you dated Amber Fell after she beat me for Miss Mystic senior year?" Elena had been insanely jealous when she saw Damon and Amber laughing over dinner at the Grill. She was still a little bitter about losing to the Fell girl at the pageant and seeing him with her best friend just rubbed the salt in the wound.

"It better not be like that with Mikaelson," Damon said seriously. The thought of Kol, or anyone else for that matter, touching his Elena made him sick to his stomach. He intentionally stayed out late on the nights that Elena had dates because he couldn't stand to see her kiss someone else goodnight at the front door.

"Just saying," Elena shrugged.

"What do you say we blow the rest of this off and get some lunch? I'm starving," he had had enough of this conversation and, frankly, his pride had been sufficiently wounded by his inability to hit Elena's pitches.

"Me too," Elena agreed, patting her stomach to emphasize her point, "you're buying."

"Of course," he said packing their things and slinging his duffel bag across his chest. "How else would I show my appreciation to the world's best batting coach?" he laughed, putting his arm over her shoulder and pulling her close to him. She instinctively wrapped her free arm around his waist and leaned into his embrace.

"You could try hitting a ball next time," she smirked.

_Present_

He yelped and tried to shake the snow out of the inside of his jacket, but as soon as he unzipped it she hit him in the chest with another, larger snowball. He caught her after she gave chase a second time, but they tumbled into a deep snow bank when she tried to wiggle out of his grasp. He landed on top of her and she grunted under his weight.

"Get off," she demanded, trying to push him off of her.

"Oh I'll get off," he smirked.

"You're crushing my arms," she whined.

"Sorry," he smiled, lifting his weight onto his elbows but still keeping his body over hers. He traced his fingers along her rosy cheeks and across her lips. "You're so beautiful," he murmured as if he was looking at her for the first time.

"I'm still made at you," she whispered, subconsciously pressing her body closer to his and running her hands down his chest. She brushed her lips against his but he pulled her into a passionate, bruising kiss.

"I can think of a couple of ways you can punish me," he said suggestively, grinding his arousal against her and swallowing her moan in another rough kiss. Before she knew it she was inside the house and being slammed against the door.

"You are fixated on this door thing, aren't you?" she panted as he swiftly pulled the tie of her robe undone and she kicked her wellies off, trying to at least get them out of the middle of the floor so no one would trip.

"Third time's a charm," he replied, shrugging out of his jacket and undoing his belt. He kissed her harshly, demanding entrance to her mouth and squeezed her bottom. He wasn't being the gentle lover he had been for the past few days and Elena knew that this wasn't going to be sweet and sensual, this was going to be fucking, plain and simple. She had never pictured herself as the kind of girl who would enjoy being manhandled but there was something about the primal, animalistic way that Damon clawed at her nightgown that had her dripping wet. It made her feel desired, sexy, and, oddly enough, powerful. She was just getting comfortable in the situation when she heard a car door slam in the driveway, followed by another.

"No fucking way," he groaned in disbelief that his fantasy was being foiled, yet again. He figured Elena would flush red, whip her clothes back on, and run upstairs to hide. Instead she tightened her legs around his waist and pulled the last remaining button of his shirt free.

"Closet?" she suggested, tilting her head to what was more like a miniature coat room next to the front door. Damon had no idea that Elena was a closet exhibitionist, no pun intended, but it turned him on even more.

"Kinky minx," he smiled and ushered them into the small alcove, closing the door behind him. Her back collided with the wall of the closet and she rolled her hips against Damon's, rubbing against his painfully engorged member. "You have no idea how badly I want to fuck you?"

"What are you waiting for?" she purred. He had no idea where this sex goddess version of Elena came from but he was liking it… a lot. She was unlike any other woman he'd ever been with. She could set him smoldering with the mildest of touches, but she ignited an inferno within him when he saw how comfortable she was becoming with her own sexuality. He brushed her panties aside, not bothering to take them off, and entered her in one thrust. She screamed at the sudden intrusion and he had to clamp his hand over her mouth. The front door open and closed and they could hear voices talking in the foyer, but they were too wrapped up in each other to care who it was or what they were talking about.

"Quiet sweetness, remember that we aren't alone," he whispered. He removed his hand and kissed her violently, exploring her mouth with his tongue. She clawed at his chest, leaving reddened tracks across his skin as their tongues battled for dominance. He pumped into her mercilessly, and moaned into her mouth. She fisted her hand in the collar of his shirt and closed the last few millimetres of space between them when she felt herself begin to climax.

"Damon," she whimpered softly, hoping he was close as well. He swore quietly under his breath and grabbed her by the back of her neck to pull her into a final kiss. He muffled Elena's keening cry with his lips as she came and he followed. He moved to pull out of her and she mewled at his withdrawal. When he set her down she collapsed against him, sending them both to the ground with a dull thud.

"What was that?" Caroline's muffled voice sounded from the other side of the door.

"Who knows? Probably one of Damon's fix-it projects falling apart," Stefan replied, and they could hear Caroline giggle in response.

"What the hell Stef?" Damon whispered, clearly offended by Stefan's insinuation, and he could feel Elena's shoulders shaking in silent laughter from where she was laying on his chest.

"Thanks for bringing me by to pick up these files," Caroline said, "by the way, I had a really great time last night."

"So did I," Stefan agreed, "I'd like to take you out again tonight, if you're free?" Elena's eyes went wide at Stefan's offer and she looked at Damon in silent shock.

"Again? Did they go out after the party?" Elena whispered to Damon, wishing she had more details about what was going on between Stefan and Caroline, but starting the conversation with "Damon and I were having dirty, dirty sex in the coat room while you and Stefan were planning your date" might not be the best approach.

"Should we jump out and surprise them?" Damon asked.

"No," Elena shook her head, "I want to spy for a just a little longer."

"How about I pick you up at 8? I heard there's a new restaurant in Somerset we could try," Stefan asked.

"Son of a bitch," Damon exclaimed in a high whisper, "he's stealing my date."

"Shh," Elena giggled, "be quiet."

"That was _my_ idea!"

"Shh," she was having a hard time keeping quiet and had to bury her face against Damon's chest.

"Sounds great," Caroline said with what Elena could only imagine was a huge smile on her face. "Well I should get going. Tell Elena to call me when you see her, I have some ideas to talk with her about."

"Sure thing," Stefan answered, "I'll walk you out." They heard footsteps in front of the coat room door and the front door open. Stefan must not have closed the door behind him, but they figured the coast was clear.

"Ok, go," Damon said, peeking out of the closet to make sure they weren't going to get caught. Elena ran down the hall and up the stairs to the bedroom, giggling mischievously the entire way. When they were safely in the privacy of the room they both flopped onto the bed, laughing together. "I didn't hurt you did I?" he asked, propping his head up on one elbow and palming her flat stomach.

"No," she said, trying to fight a grin, "you're kind of hot when you're wild."

"Kind of?" he raised his eyebrows in question.

"Really hot," she corrected. "That was really hot. Do you think they heard us?"

"If they heard us, I'm sure Caroline wouldn't have hesitated to investigate the coat closet. I'm sure we're fine. I think I figured out the secret to making you a morning person though."

"You got lucky. I still hate mornings."

"But morning can be so much fun," he said seductively, kissing her neck.

"Hold on," she remembered, "I'm still mad at you." She crawled out of the bed and made for the closet.

"No you're not," he replied, stretching out against the pillows with his hands behind his head putting his bare chest on display for her. He had really been hoping for a second go at extraordinary morning sex in bed. "You want me to make you cum again." She scoffed and threw a black shirt over his face.

"Get dressed," she ordered. "You owe me pancakes and a doctor's appointment."

"There's something else I'd rather eat than pancakes," he said tossing his shirt on the other side of the bed.

"Damon!" she scolded, "do you ever think about anything besides sex?"

"Yeah," he answered, "I think a lot about foreplay, too," he wiggled his eyebrows.

"I'm serious Damon," she couldn't help but laugh at his antics, "I know your stalling about the doctor."

"Is it working?"

"No. Now get dressed, or don't, I don't care," she shrugged, pulling on a pair of skinny jeans, "but you're going." With that she walked out of the room, leaving him rolling his eyes. He slithered off of the bed miserably and pulled his shirt on before padding downstairs.

"Damon," Dr. Jonas Martin greeted as he entered the small exam room, "it's good to see you again. I don't think you've been here since you broke your collar bone in track in 9th grade."

"What can I say? Healthy as a horse," Damon shrugged, trying to get through his appointment as quickly as possible. He didn't like doctor's offices and just wanted to pacify Elena and go about the rest of his day.

"And was that Elena Gilbert I saw in the waiting room with you?" the older gentleman asked, adjusting his wire-rimmed glasses on his nose.

"Soon-to-be Elena Salvatore, or Gilbert-Salvatore. We haven't really discussed those details yet."

"Is that right?" the good doctor said with a twinkle in his eyes, "did Stefan ask you to be his best man?"

"Ha ha, very funny Doc. Elena and _I_ are getting married," Damon beamed with pride as soon as he said it.

"Congratulations Damon, that's terrific. She's quite the special young lady. Grayson would have been so proud of you two." Jonas and Grayson had worked together at Mystic Falls General since they were fresh out of medical school. He could remember Elena jumping up to hug her dad when she and Miranda would bring Grayson dinner whenever he worked a double shift. "I can't say he would have been surprised, but he would have been thrilled. Anyways, you are probably in a hurry to get back to your lovely fiancée, so let's make this quick shall we? What brings you in today?"

"Elena, mostly. She's worried because I've been getting headaches."

"Have you had headaches before?" Dr. Martin asked, glancing over Damon's chart.

"Sure, but nothing some aspirin doesn't fix."

"Have you hit your head recently or injured your neck?"

"Nope," he and Elena had taken a pretty good fall in the shower two days ago but his still-sore shoulder and bruised knee had borne the brunt of the impact.

"Have you been dizzy or fainted at all?"

"Fainted? Come on Doc, who am I Scarlett O'Hara? No, I haven't fainted."

"Dizzy?"

"A little bit last night, but I had also had a couple of drinks."

"How about forgetfulness, mood swings, depression, anxiety?"

"Not that I can remember," he said with a smirk, trying to hide his concern about where this line of questioning was going.

"Damon, you need to take this seriously," Jonas admonished in a fatherly tone as he scribbled notes into his file.

"Ok, fine, yes, no, no, and no. I have been misplacing my things lately. But I've had a lot on my mind for past couple of weeks."

"I'd like to refer you for some baseline lab work, blood tests that sort of thing and an MRI scan, just to be sure. It's probably nothing, but with your family history it wouldn't hurt to be absolutely certain." Damon's eyebrows quirked slightly at the family history comment but didn't sense any anxiety from Dr. Martin. "The lab is downstairs and then you can head up to the third floor for radiology, I'll make sure they have your file ready so we can get you out of here."

"Thanks Doc, I'll let Elena know." Damon strode back out into the waiting room where Elena was flipping through a magazine and nervously tapping her foot on the ground. She looked up and saw him, closing the magazine and jumping to her feet immediately.

"How did it go? What did he say? Is everything ok?" she asked rapidly.

"Easy baby," he grabbed her shoulders gently to reassure her, "Dr. Martin just ordered some blood tests and crap. I've got to visit the vampires down stairs and then get some scan thing. No big deal, like I told you."

An hour later they had finished with the lab work and MRI and were waiting in another exam room for Damon's results. Elena was flipping through one of the wedding magazines she picked up. Damon watched her lovingly, he wanted to hang a billboard and let the whole world know that he was the reason for the glow in her eyes, that she was looking through that magazine to plan her perfect wedding to _him_. Damon Salvatore had officially become his own worst nightmare, even worse—he liked it.

"Ooo, what do you think about this?" she asked holding up a particular page that showed a beautiful floral arrangement draped across a smiling bride's arms.

"Whatever you want baby," he kissed her ear and looked at the pages she was slipping through. He hadn't really thought much about what his wedding would look like. He knew Elena would look beautiful in whatever she chose, but he was thinking he'd like to see her in the strapless A-line gown with a sweetheart neckline that the woman on the cover of the magazine was wearing. "What kind of dress are you going get?"

"I can't tell you, that's bad luck."

"It's only bad luck if I see it, if you tell me about it in detail so I can imagine you in it it's not bad luck."

Their conversation was cut short when a new doctor entered the room with Damon's file in her hands. She was younger with short, dark hair and had an air of confidence and authority. She was wearing a white lab coat and had a stethoscope slung around her neck. She looked every part the serious doctor, but there was something about her that made Elena a little nervous even if she couldn't put her finger on it.

"Mr. Salvatore, Ms. Gilbert, good morning," the doctor greeted in a professional manner, shaking both of their hands "my name is Dr. Meredith Fell, I'm from the oncology department."

"Oncology?" Elena stuttered, "why are you from oncology? I'm sorry but you must have the wrong file Dr. Fell. We're not here for anything like that. This must just be a mix-up."

"Oh, um… Damon Marcus Salvatore?" Dr. Fell asked after checking the name on the file and looking back to the couple.

"Yeah, but—," Elena protested, but was cut off by Damon gently squeezing her hand.

"Why don't you wait out in the waiting room?" Damon said quietly to Elena, trying not to make a scene. Elena crossed her arms and shook her head stubbornly, making it clear that she was staying and it wasn't up for discussion.

"Sorry, go on," Damon nodded apologetically to the doctor.

"I reviewed your MR study and I have some good news and some bad news for you." Elena nearly jumped out of the chair at Dr. Fell's statement. She started to say something but Damon pulled her back to the chair and put his arm around her shoulder to keep her in place.

"Alright, let's hear it?" Damon said trying to be nonchalant so Elena wouldn't freak out again.

"Your MRI study has some abnormalities consistent with a meningioma, which is a type of brain tumor. The tumor is taking up space inside your skull and compressing the normal brain tissue which explains the symptoms you've been experiencing." Dr. Fell said carefully, knowing all too well how news like this can affect people. Elena went sheet white and was shaking her head violently back and forth.

"No! No!" she shouted at no one in particular. "That can't be right. No! Take another test, that one is wrong." Damon pulled her closer to calm her down, knowing that she should have waited outside.

"Ok, I sure hope that was the bad news part," he said, trying to keep up a strong façade. "You mentioned there was good news too?"

"There is," Dr. Fell looked relieved to have gotten the worst part out of the way, "these tumors have a _very_ high remission rate with surgery and radiation. And I believe we've caught yours early enough to give us an excellent chance at complete remission. On the MRI it looks like the tumor is located in a highly operable region of the brain and we should be able to remove most of the malignant cells surgically. We then typically follow up with radiation or chemotherapy to kill off any remaining cells. We will need to run a few more tests and get a more detailed imaging study of your brain to plan for surgery, but at this point I am very optimistic."

"Well, optimistic is good," Damon sighed in relief, partly for himself but mostly for Elena who was breaking down before his very eyes. "See Elena, it's going to be fine," he said soothingly rubbing gently down her arm.

"I'd like to get you scheduled for surgery as soon as we can. The earlier we get these things the better."

"Sure, yeah," Damon nodded.

"Your lab work looks great. There are risks associated with anesthesia and the surgery, as with any other procedure. The brain is highly susceptible to infection and any time we enter the cranium surgically, there is the chance to introduce microbes into the environment. As a precaution, we generally like to keep people in the hospital for a few days to monitor for any signs of infection or swelling, but it's very routine. There is also the slight chance that once we have surgical access to your brain we find that the tumor has spread farther than what is shown in the MR study. I have to say, that is _very_ rare with this kind of tumor, but if that happens we may be left with fewer treatment options." Dr. Fell felt like she needed to emphasize the positive for this case, she hated the part of her job that brought her in front of young, happy couples like this to tear their lives apart. Dr. Martin had mentioned to her that both of Damon's parents had battled cancer, and ultimately lost. They didn't have her as their doctor though, she was excellent and she knew it. She had made herself excellent for cases just like these.

"I'm not too happy about having to get a haircut, but I'll live… hopefully," he said with his half-smile. Dr. Fell liked patients like Damon, he was too cocky to let something like this beat him. Plus, he had something to live for; he hadn't let go of the young woman he was with the entire time they were in the exam room and Dr. Fell could see how in love they were. She had to be excellent for them.

"I can assure you, we have a great stylist here." Dr. Fell smiled brightly, she loved patients who had a sense of humor. "If you can free up your schedule for next week I can get you in early on Monday and we'll have you home in time for the holidays. I'm going to put you on strict orders to rest for the next few days and make sure you're getting enough sleep and eating well."

"Noted. Monday it is then, it's already my least favorite day of the week so, what the hell?" Damon said, standing to shake the doctor's hand. Elena didn't say a word but just stared at the floor looking catatonic. When Dr. Fell left the room he knelt down in front of her, taking her hands and speaking to her gently.

"Elena," she looked up at him sorrowfully with unshed tears in her eyes, "come on, let's go home." She let him pull her up and lead her from the room like a zombie. She felt like she had just been hit the force of a hurricane. She had finally allowed herself to be happy and it was all disintegrating before her eyes. When they reached the car Damon held the door as usual and gave her a smile; she didn't look up at him, she just stared at the ground and plopped into the seat. When he got in on the driver's side he had to break the tense silence that had formed between them.

"You've never been the silent treatment type Elena," but still nothing from her, she just sat silently twisting the diamond ring on her finger. "Elena?"

"Can we just go home, please?"

* * *

**A/N: I'm a little nervous to put this one out there, but let me know what you think :) Next up: Damon gets Elena to open up to him, more Steroline, etc... See you soon!**


	8. Chapter 8: Never Let Me Go

_Thank you everyone for your positive feedback about the last chapter! Slightly more angst ahead. There's nothing better for writing than rainy BC weather so expect a few more chapters in the next couple of days. Don't forget to feed the review box ;) Hugs to everyone!_

_Littlemissartsi- Thank you for your review :) She's def scared, but she's in it for the long haul._

_Barbara SGB- I hope you enjoy this chapter! It's not as sad :)_

_Alice- A dash of Steroline for you ;) I totally agree, they are so cute on the show. Caroline as Stefan's sober sponser= ADORABLE!_

_DE92- Thank you so much! Your super sweet reviews mean so much to me :) Elena will discover her own strength, she's still scared but she'd a fighter._

_noobishere- Thank you! My roommate demanded a naughty D/E sexcapade, in her words: "Elena needs to let her freak flag fly!" ;)_

_anon- Thank you bunches and bunches :)_

_Cherriesandapples- Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoy the new chapter. Elena's not going anywhere, they're endgame ;)_

_Abgypig84- Thank you! I hope Elena owning Damon at baseball made up for her lack of skill driving a stick ;)_

_Angelfan984- That's exactly how she feels, but she's going to make the best of it and unleash her inner warrior princess. A little more angst in this chapter but I tried to end on a better note :)_

_DISCLAIMER: I do not own the _Vampire Diaries_, the characters, or their likenesses. No copyright infringement intended._

* * *

Damon stopped outside of the Mystic Falls Municipal Courthouse and put his car in park. Elena was still staring out the window, her eyes glazed over with tears. Damon looked over at her, and his heart broke. He had finally gotten the girl he'd pined after for the better part of his life, the girl he loved more than life itself, and she loved him in return. He'd even convinced her to marry him! She'd already suffered through so much in her young life; she deserved nothing but roses and rainbows and a gorgeous sunset to ride off into. She deserved anything but this. He wanted to be man enough to be selfless and wish that he had never met her so she wouldn't be feeling this pain right now, but he couldn't do that. The news he received earlier that morning had made him more selfish. He _needed_ her; as much as it hurt her he needed her to stand by his through this.

"Elena, hey," Damon said softly, not wanting to startle her. She snapped out of her trance and brushed a stray tear from her cheek. She looked at the imposing white-columned brick building that they were parked outside of and shook her head in confusion.

"What are we doing here Damon? You heard Dr. Fell, you need to get home and rest."

"And I will, I promise. But right now, I need to marry you."

"What?! No, Damon, come on. Let's go home."

"Elena, please," he took her hands in his own. He knew he'd be in the hospital for several days, best-case scenario. Visits and information would be limited to immediate family only so she would have to rely on Stefan to get second-hand updates and hope some of the nurses would be kind enough to let her stay in his room outside of non-family visiting hours. Marrying Elena was the only way to ensure that she could be with him every step of the way, if she chose to do so. It was also the only way to ensure that she'd be taken care of and provided for, if something happened along the lines of the worst-case scenario.

"No Damon. This is insane, even for you. We are not getting married, end of story." She pulled her hands away from his and crossed her arms over her chest, showing that she was not open to further discussion.

"No, not end of story," she was taking this worse than he thought she would, she was getting that tone of voice that signaled a fight looming on the horizon. Of course, he had foolishly hoped that she would see it as a grand romantic gesture of Austen magnitude and happily let him sweep her away to their courthouse nuptials. "We're going to talk about this."

"There's nothing to talk about because it's not happening!" she swung the car door open and stomped out before slamming it shut with an extra bit of force to show how angry she was with him. She crossed her arms and set off down the street at a brisk pace she only took when she was completely and utterly enraged. After a few paces she realized she had left her coat and scarf in the car, but she was too proud to go back and retrieve them.

"Goddamnit," he muttered under his breath, throwing his seat belt off to go chase after his fiancée. "Elena!" he shouted, jogging after her since she had already reached the middle of the block. "Elena!" he repeated, and only then did she stop walking and turn to face him.

"What, Damon? What more could you possibly have to say?" she asked with fire in her eyes and venom in her voice. Her breath was curling into little evanescent tendrils in the cold winter air and a small breeze blew a few strands of hair across her face. She looked like a warrior princess poised for battle and she honestly scared him a little. _Hell hath no fury… for real,_ he thought while trying to decide what to say next.

"We have to talk about this," he offered, trying to lower his voice to a calm and soothing timbre. He imagined that it would be the same tone he'd use if he was talking to a tiger readying for the attack.

"Talk about this?" she seethed. If he had really wanted to talk about it they would have gone home and discussed it in private before coming to a mutual decision. This, however, was classic Damon: act now, think later… or never, if he could get away with it. "Now you want to talk about this? Because pulling up outside of the courthouse and telling me that you _needed_ to get married seems like you already had your mind made up. Nowhere in between the time that you made this decision and stopped here did you think to ask me about this? Jesus Damon!"

"I'm sorry," he apologized, realizing that he might have been a little rash by springing this on her the way he had. "Can you please just come back to the car and talk to me sweetheart? It's freezing out here."

"No," she stubbornly clenched her jaw until she could feel the pressure in the roots of her teeth. "I'll call Caroline or Bonnie to come pick me up."

"Elena, baby," he reasoned, trying not to roll his eyes at her stubbornness, "don't be like that."

"Be like what exactly, Damon?" she asked, eyeing him critically. She knew he was trying to turn this around on her and then would swoop in at the end with a magical resolution, which was usually suspiciously close to precisely what he wanted in the first place. "Mad? Angry? Do you even know why I'm upset, Damon? Because I just had to listen to a doctor tell us that you have a brain tumor. Then, as if that's not enough, you decide to just swing by the courthouse to pick up a gallon of holy matrimony on the way home without even asking me! There's only so much I can handle!"

"I want to marry you, Elena. If we do this now it will give me some peace of mind," he tried to put his arm around her but she jumped back and glared at him as a warning to keep his distance. As angry as her evasiveness made him, he backed off and gave her a little space.

"Don't touch me," she hissed, "this isn't a decision you get to make by yourself! You can't just decide to get married and expect me to be ok with it!"

"So let's talk about it," he offered again, gesturing towards the car. The frustration in his tone was evident and while he was trying to remain calm, he could see that this wasn't going to end nicely. Arguments with Elena never did. She was passionate and fiery just like he was. Passionate people love like crazy, but unfortunately, they also fight like hell.

"Look, I get that impulsive and crazy is your _thing_, Damon. And it's fun and sexy, but you need to learn where to draw the line."

"Who's to say what the line is? What is the unspoken rule we're supposed to be abiding by here?"

"You would love that wouldn't you?" she snapped sarcastically, "free reign to just do whatever you want."

"Do you think I enjoy this?" he questioned, beginning to raise his voice. "Do you think this makes me happy? Well newsflash honey: it doesn't. It fucking sucks! Watching you flee like the car was on fire at the notion of marrying me was just the perfect addition to this shitty day, so thanks for that."

"So now this is my fault?" she shouted, "We just told our family and friends we were engaged last night. _Last night_, Damon! A week ago you were my best friend, dropping by to check on my water heater. This," she motioned wildly between them, "it's not even a week old yet and now you want to get married!"

"It's not like there's some fucking rule book for this, Elena," Damon yelled, "what's the difference if it's been a week or a year. I already know what I want: I want you. I've wanted you for years and this is real. Why is it so hard for you to get that?"

"I get it, Damon. I absolutely get it. _You_ want something and you're going to pitch a fit if you don't get it. Or how about, better yet you'll just do it anyways and hope I'll go along with it as usual. What did you expect me to do?"

"Well I certainly didn't expect you to take off running down the fucking street."

"God! You are infuriating!" she said, turning away from him. She took two steps and couldn't stop herself from facing him to go back for more. "Have you even thought about this from my point of view? If it had been me instead of you at the hospital."

"I would still marry you!" he roared narrowing the distance between them slightly, "if the situation was reversed I would still marry you right this instant. You know why? Because you're _it_ for me, Elena. I don't give a shit about what other people think about our relationship because it's between you and me! And yeah, people will think we are completely cracked if we do this, but fuck them! This isn't their life and it's none of their damn business so stop thinking about what other people are going to say and ask yourself what it is that you want. What do you want?" He was only inches away from her now and he was close enough to see the tears in her eyes. She just sniffled and didn't reply. "What do you want Elena?" he asked again, raising his voice in frustration over her sudden silence.

"You!" she barked back at him. "I want you, Damon!"

"So what's the problem?" he groaned, throwing his hands up in exasperation. They had come full circle in the argument and she was still being her usual stubborn self.

"Because this doesn't mean that I get you!" she cried. The tears he had seen glistening along her eyelashes drained down her cheeks. "It doesn't matter if we go in there and sign some piece of paper saying that we get to be together forever. It's not going to make it true. Nothing is going to guarantee that I get to keep you! Nothing Damon!" Her shoulders were shaking with violent sobs. She wasn't scared of losing him, she was absolutely terrified of losing him. She didn't want to stand before a justice of the peace and talk about forever when he was going in for brain surgery. Her heart had nearly been torn out at the hospital and she felt like any additional burden would snap what the tiny threads that were still holding it in her chest. When he realized that she was pushing him away because she was scared of losing another person in her life he hated himself for putting her in this situation. Suddenly he saw the lonely, frightened girl he had seen at the hospital the night that her parents passed away. The whole fight had been because she was trying to protect herself. He stepped swiftly to close the chasm between them and took her in his arms. She fell against him willingly and grasped onto his jacket while burying her face in his t-shirt.

"I can't lose you too, Damon," she wept, "you can't leave me."

"I won't, I promise," he said, smoothing his hand over her hair and pulling her tightly into his embrace. A part of him knew he shouldn't make promises he couldn't be certain to keep but he wouldn't leave her, he couldn't.

"I love you, you can't leave me," she repeated like a mantra. Her tears had soaked through his shirt so that he could feel the cold sting of her sorrow against his skin.

"Lena, look at me," he said gently, all of his frustration and anger from before completely gone. He pulled at her chin to get her to look at him. "I love you, more than anything. Everything is going to be ok."

"But what if it's not?" she sobbed, pressing herself even closer to him.

"It will be!" he insisted, "I'm not ready to leave you, we just got started. It's going to be fine, you'll see. Please don't fight me right now. I can handle anything except you being angry with me."

"I'm not mad at you," she said, her voice muffled against he leather jacket.

"You have a funny way of showing it," he tried joking with her to lighten the mood. He didn't handle deep emotions very well, and the sooner they could move on to the light-hearted banter the better. "When you're mad at me you rock my world with hot closet sex and when you aren't mad at me you run away and yell at me. Now I kind of wish you _were_ mad at me."

"Damon?" she mumbled.

"Hmm?"

"Please shut up." She released her death grip on his jacket and wrapped her arms around his waist, her breathing was returning to normal and she just wanted to enjoy his warmth. She enjoyed the silence for a few more moments before speaking again, "we can get married, if you still want to."

"Elena," he searched her face for any sign of trepidation, "are you sure?"

"Yeah," she nodded, trying to muster a teary smile for him, "I don't really need a fancy wedding. I just want you."

"Whoa," he cautioned, "you're still going to get a wedding baby. This is just to hold us over until then." He had seen the look in her eyes when she was looking through _Modern Bride_. He still planned on giving her a wedding for their family and friends to come to. If anything, this was just a technicality, it really was peace of mind for him.

"Let's do this," she smiled, swiping her cheeks one last time to clean off her stray mascara. She had always been a future person: she saved for a rainy day, always had a back up plan, made sure everything was in order for tomorrow. She knew that being a part of Damon's world would mean having to give up a little bit of that control and cut loose once in a while. She took his hand and interlocked their fingers, ready to do the second crazy thing she had done that week.

Damon tapped the bell on the counter and looked over at Elena with his typical smirk and she just smiled back at him, giggling something about him being out of his mind. The clerk that appeared at the window eyed the couple suspiciously.

"Can I help you?" she asked in a clipped tone, tapping her pen against the counter impatiently.

"My lovely fiancée and I need to get a marriage license, please," Damon said smoothly, hoping to charm the clerk into a better mood. The older woman's eyes shifted to the puffy-eyed young woman standing next to the man at her counter. _Another unplanned pregnancy_, the clerk thought as she rolled her eyes and shuffled through a poorly organized folder, pulling out several blank forms and stacking them on the counter in front of her. Damon looked over at Elena and gave her a small smile, bringing her hand to his lips so he could kiss her finger that was adorned with her engagement ring. The clerk cleared her throat to get their attention and haughtily shoved a stack of papers in their direction.

"You need to fill out these three forms and attach a copy of your IDs. There are clipboards and pens to the right. Whenever you're finished get back in line and someone can process your paperwork for you."

"Thank you sunshine," Damon smiled at the clerk, taking the papers and giving her a wink. He and Elena settled into a pair of chairs by the window in the large waiting room. They got started on their forms, working silently.

"What are we doing about last names?" Elena asked. They hadn't even had the opportunity to discuss whether she would keep her name, take his name, or hyphenate the two.

"What do you want to do?" he shrugged, he was hoping she would take his name but he figured he had pushed her far enough for the day and he would be happy with whatever she chose.

"I don't know," she stared at the form that demanded her answer, "I already have my portfolio out there as Elena Gilbert."

"So keep Gilbert," he said supportively.

"But I want people to know that we're married," she pouted with a furrowed brow.

"How about this?" he offered, "you keep Gilbert until we get married officially, with the wedding and all that, then you can decide if you want to change your name or not. That gives you some time to think about it and change your professional contacts if you choose."

"What would you rather I did?" she asked.

"It's completely up to you baby."

"Ok," she remarked thoughtfully and scratched something onto the form that he couldn't see. A few minutes later they were both scanning over their forms to make sure all of the spaces were filled in completely. Elena sighed deeply and looked over to Damon.

"Ready?" he asked, trying to put on his best not-a-care-in-the-world smile.

"Ready," she answered, trying to match his grin. She could see how much this meant to him and she didn't want her apprehension to ruin it. He had always been her bulwark against hard times. He stood by her through everything as a friend, and now as a lover, and had never let his own misgivings compromise his support for her. She decided that it was her turn to be the strong one, and that she would remain beside him through every step of the way. With her promise her smile transformed from forced to genuine. She was ready.

The couple was fortunate enough to have the same clerk when they returned to the counter for processing their paperwork. She silently took their forms and rattled on her keyboard for a few moments before slamming a rubber stamp onto the forms in various places.

"I need a copy of your IDs," she added angrily, knowing that she had already told them she would need them. Damon pulled his wallet out of the back pocket of his jeans and took his driver's license out, handing it over to the clerk.

"I left my purse in the car," Elena said, not wanting to look at the clerk and her disapproving glare. Damon handed her his keys and motioned towards the door, as if to tell her not to worry about the catty clerk and take her time.

"So this is a pretty cool job, huh?" Damon asked the clerk after Elena had walked away, "helping people get married and all."

"It's fantastic," the clerk answered, her voice dropping in sarcasm.

"So how does this whole thing work from here?" he asked, hoping Elena wouldn't take long to get her purse.

"You didn't read the pamphlet that came with your paperwork?" when Damon didn't respond, she sighed and rolled her eyes. "You will sign your final license and then wait for one of our justices to become available to perform a civil ceremony."

"Ok then," Damon said uncomfortably, awkward silence was better than listening to this woman and her condescending judgment. Elena returned just in time, rummaging through her large purse looking for her wallet. When she found it she handed it to the clerk mumbling a small sorry. The clerk disappeared to the copy machine and returned a few seconds later with a marriage license.

"Sign here," she instructed. Damon picked up the pen to sign but hesitated.

"Can we have just a sec?" he asked, the clerk raised an eyebrow at him and gestured for him to take however much time he wanted.

"What's wrong?" Elena asked, hoping that he wasn't getting cold feet now that she had convinced herself to go along with his plan

"After we sign this, we're going to be husband and wife," he said with a hint of awe in his voice.

"That's the whole point Damon," she grinned at the boyish glint in his eyes.

"This is pretty big."

"Yes it is," she agreed.

"Here," he said handing her the pen and taking his phone from his pocket. He unlocked the screen and opened the camera app. "You know Caroline is going to want pictures." He shrugged when he saw her quizzical expression. She laughed beautifully and held up the certificate with a thumbs-up for the camera. She took a picture of Damon signing his name on the dotted line.

"They're kind of cute together, huh?" Elena beamed at their signatures sitting side-by-side on their marriage certificate.

"I'll go give this to the dragon lady," Damon offered, ready to get the civil ceremony over with and get a start with married life. The clerk dramatically put the book she was reading on the counter when she saw Damon re-approach the counter.

"Signed and delivered," he slid the license to her.

"You can have a seat. I'll phone a justice. It will be a few minutes." Without any further acknowledgment she picked up the phone and punched the numbers. Damon returned to the seat next to Elena. He slid his arm around her shoulder and kissed her on the cheek. She leaned to rest her head on his shoulder and laced her fingers through his.

"I'm sorry for my melt down," she said quietly.

"Don't be."

"I'm being selfish and I'm sorry for that, too. I shouldn't have yelled at you."

"Stop being sorry, baby. It's done with."

"I really do love you."

"I know you do. I love you, too. We're going to make it through this. Then we'll have a kick ass honeymoon to somewhere you can wear lots of bikinis."

"I was thinking more like Paris or Rome," Elena countered.

"Elena Gilbert and Damon Salvatore?" an elegantly-accented voice rang out through the lobby. They looked up to see a well-dressed man waving them over.

"Good afternoon Miss Gilbert, Mr. Salvatore," the man greeted them warmly. "My name is Elijah Smythe and I'll be officiating your ceremony today. Do you have any special requests we may accommodate?"

"Nope," Damon shook his head.

"Sweet and simple then," Elijah smiled, "and it is a beautiful day for a ceremony." He led them to a terrace overlooking a rose garden that was covered in snow. A small water feature bubbled from within the labyrinth of rose bushes. "My wife, Katerina, created this garden specifically for this use. She's a bit of a romantic." Neither Elena nor Damon missed the gleam in his eyes when he mentioned his wife. _This guy must have an Elena too_, Damon thought to himself. "Shall we begin?"

Damon and Elena joined hands and faced each other. She had to smile when she thought of poor Caroline who was probably poring over every bridal magazine known to man to find the perfect bridesmaids dresses and wedding gowns and here they were, she in skinny jeans, brown boots, and a purple cotton Henley and he in his usual dark jeans, black shirt, and leather jacket, getting married on the balcony at the courthouse by a man they'd only just met.

"Elena Gilbert and Damon Salvatore, today you celebrate one of life's greatest moments and give recognition to the worth and beauties of love as you embark upon the grandest adventure of human interaction: marriage." Damon liked this guy immediately, he was old school and had a flair for the dramatics.

"Do you, Damon Salvatore, take Elena to be your lawfully wedded wife?"

"Yeah," Damon answered, Elena clenched her fist tightly around his fingers, "I mean, I do."

"Do you promise to love, honor, cherish, and protect her, forsaking all others before her?"

"I do."

"Do you, Elena Gilbert, take Damon to be your lawfully wedded husband?"

"I do," she sniffled, trying not to cry for the hundreth time that day.

"Do you promise to love honor, cherish and obey him, forsaking all others before him?"

"I do," she said with a smirk she could have only learned from her husband-to-be, "except for the obey part." Both Damon and Elijah chuckled at Elena's cheekiness.

"Do you have rings to exchange this afternoon?"

"Yep," Damon said reaching into his jacket pocket. Elena had a puzzled look on her face, and he knew she was wondering why he had rings with him for a trip to the doctor's office, which is what this whole day started out as.

"I asked Stefan to pick them up from the family's deposit box and he gave them to me last night, I just forgot to take them out of my pocket," _I guess this tumor is good for something_ he thought, but didn't dare say to Elena, it was much too soon for that. He dropped them into Elijah's open hand.

"You have for each other special rings – symbols that love is the most precious element in your life together. The ring has no beginning and no ending, which symbolizes that the love between you will never cease. You place these rings upon each other's fingers as a visible sign of your vows this day, which will make you husband and wife." He handed Damon and Elena each a ring for them to place on each other's hands. Elena rolled the thick platinum band in her hand and noticed that there was an inscription on the inside of the band in elegant cursive script: _For all you are to me_. Damon carefully slid a delicate antique white gold band onto Elena's finger above her engagement ring, completing the matching set his mother had left to him, and kissed her hand tenderly. Elena was trying to get her ring onto Damon's finger but her hands were shaking so badly that he had to help her. She gave him a grateful smile that was filled with nothing but love.

"And now, by the power vested in me by the Commonwealth of Virginia, I hereby pronounce you husband and wife. Damon, you may kiss your bride," Elijah said with a broad grin. Damon cupped Elena's cheeks in his hands and brought her lips to his, he wanted to deepen the kiss and take her right there on the terrace, but out of respect for their company he kept it chaste and sweet. Elijah shook Damon's hand and kissed Elena on the cheek, congratulating them a final time. The newlywed couple left the courthouse hand-in-hand protected in a bubble of bliss as everything else they were facing fell away. When they reached the car Damon caged Elena against the passenger side door and attacked her lips with own. Her arms moved as if under their own control to encircle his waist and pull him closer.

"Damon," Elena gasped as his fingers traced along the waistband of her jeans and across her stomach, "there are people out here with their kids."

"So? If they have kids they obviously aren't strangers to this" he shot back, not even lifting his head from where he was kissing her neck.

"We're going to get arrested for indecency," she panted as his gently bit down on her skin, knowing how crazy that made her.

"I want to enjoy my conjugal rights with my _wife_," he mumbled, still working her over.

"We can conjugate at home, _husband_," she said weakly trying to put some distance between them before she let herself surrender to him.

"Mmhmm, I like the sound of that," he looked into her eyes with a cocky half smile.

Elena laughed and shook her head as Damon quickly whipped her door opened and then practically ran to the driver's side and peeled out of the parking spot. They were back at the boarding house in no time. Damon nearly dragged Elena out of the car and up the stairs the front door. The door was unlocked, but he just assumed it was because Stefan was still around. Damon swung the door open and turned to face Elena. He swiftly moved to pick her up.

"What are you doing?" she squealed in delight and wrapped her arms tightly around his neck

"Carrying my wife over the threshold," he replied walking through the door. "It's tradition," he reminded her before kissing her and setting her back on the floor inside the entryway. "I think that tradition also dictates immediate consummation." Elena giggled as Damon pounced on her, kissing her décolleté.

"Not again!" Stefan exclaimed as he came around the corner walking Caroline to the door only to see his brother and Elena peeling out of their jackets in a frenzy, "there are seven bedrooms in this house and you guys don't seen keen to use any of them!"

"Fucking cock blocker," Damon muttered quietly so only Elena could hear.

"Where have you guys been?" Caroline asked.

"Oh, you know, out and about," Damon answered vaguely, waving his hand in the air.

"WAIT!" Caroline screamed grabbing Damon's left hand, "what is this? What the hell is this?!"

"Purity ring, I'm saving myself for marriage," Damon replied with a straight face.

"WHAT ARE THESE?!" she raised her voice even louder and grabbed Elena's hand as well.

"Care…" Elena said carefully, "just calm down. We, um… well…."

"The missus and I just got married," Damon finished her sentence with a grin.

"You didn't!" Caroline huffed, dropping both of their hands. "You better be lying, Elena Gilbert I…"

"Salvatore," Damon corrected cheekily. Caroline just stared at Elena looking for an answer. "What were _you two_ doing here with no adult supervision?" he asked his brother, trying to take some of the heat off of his wife.

"Don't change the subject Salvatore!"

"Which one? Me or Stefan… or Elena?" he knew he was wearing her down; he could feel Elena's shoulders begin to tremble with silent laughter.

"Oh my gosh! You did it didn't you?" Caroline covered her mouth with her hands, "No way, you guys really got married didn't you?"

"Ooo, here," Damon jumped dramatically, "we have pictures." He handed Caroline his phone and she flipped through the few pictures they had taken at the courthouse.

"Elena?!" she exclaimed, looking to her friend for answers.

"We did," Elena said gazing at her husband with a beaming smile.

"But what about the wedding?" Caroline whined.

"Easy Blondie," Damon dismissed, "you and Elena will still get your fairytale princess whatever wedding. I just didn't want to wait anymore."

"So, let me get this straight: you just got married but you still want to get married?" Caroline asked with her eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"Yep," Damon nodded.

"So we still get to plan the wedding?" Caroline asked Elena.

"Yep," she replied, mimicking Damon.

"Ahhhhh," Caroline cried leaping onto Elena and hugging her neck tightly, "you just got MARRIED and you still get to get married! This is the best day ever!" She pulled back suddenly, looking at Stefan, "we need to have a party Stefan! Your brother and sister-in-law just got married!"

Stefan burst into laughter from Caroline's excitement. She had always been a live wire, but whenever she received good news she was absolutely uncontrollable. She grabbed Elena's hand and whisked her away to the kitchen to start on hors d'oeuvres for the party it looked like they would be hosting.

"So Stefan," Damon said, turning to his brother when the girls disappeared, "you never answered my question. What's Blondie doing here?"

"We were just having coffee," Stefan shrugged turning beet red.

"Sure you were…" Damon rolled his eyes and gravitated towards the drink cart, "fix your shirt brother, you missed a button." Stefan realized he had been caught, but luckily Damon wasn't one to pass judgment. "Thanks for stealing my date, by the way you sneaky little bastard."

"How did you find out about that?" Stefan asked sheepishly. He had never really had a lot of time to date and was a loss for how to plan a perfect date. He _really_ wanted to impress Caroline, and seeing as how Damon and Elena's date went over so well, he figured he could use the basic blueprint that his brother had. He had other ancillary plans, but the theme was basically the same.

"We were in the closet when you brought her the house yesterday to pick up her files," the older Salvatore said casually.

"What were you doing in the clos… you know what, don't answer that. I don't want to know. So what's with the impromptu wedding?" Stefan asked curiously unbuttoning his tussled shirt. Damon turned around with a two glasses of bourbon.

"Whoa, cover up Fabio," Damon said handing Stefan a glass of amber liquor when he fixed his shirt, "do you really want to know?"

"Of course I do."

"I have a brain tumor."

Stefan rolled his eyes and scoffed, "Damon, come on, can't you be serious for two seconds."

"I'm being serious Stef. Serious as cancer," Damon couldn't help but smirk at his own joke. "Too soon?"

"Are you lying? If you're lying about this I am going to kick your ass."

"I am not lying, and even with a brain tumor you couldn't kick my ass." At his brother's answer Stefan sat on the couch and stared at his half-full tumbler.

"How bad is it?" he asked in a serious tone.

"Not bad, it's still early." Damon sat on the sofa across from his brother and felt like this is the first time he allowed himself to think about everything that has transpired that morning. "Surgery is on Monday," he said simply running his hand through his hair in a rare moment of nerves. He would never show Elena that he was scared, but he was.

"I'll call the office," Stefan responded in the same resigned tone.

"Don't get sentimental, Stef. I'd much rather have Elena as my nurse than you. I just don't think you can pull off that sexy little outfit, no offense." Stefan knew Damon was scared. Humor and sarcasm were his default methods of avoiding difficult situations.

"I'll call the office," he repeated. Damon looked down at his hands and nodded. "How are you?"

"Walking on sunshine."

"Damon…" Stefan admonished.

"Now I _am_ being serious Stef," Damon cut him off, "I just got married to the girl of my dreams. Elena is my _wife_. In the past week we've had our first date, got engaged, and she married me. Brain tumor doesn't even rate among those things. So, seriously, I'm doing great."

"I'm happy for you Damon." There was a moment of silence until Stefan spoke again, "how is Elena?"

"Honestly?" Damon looked in the direction of the kitchen where he knew his wife would be having a similar conversation with her best friend. "I have no idea. She didn't take the news too well at the hospital but now she seems ok. She's so strong though, I know she can handle it but I wish she didn't have to. I feel like I'm putting her back to where she was 6 months ago."

"So is it…"

"Yes," Damon interrupted his brother again, "it's the same as Mom's was. But, like I said, it's early so there isn't much to worry about."

"Just tell me what you need me to do," Stefan said. Damon had always kept an eye on him and protected him from everything and now it was his turn to look out for his big brother. He'd call the office in New York and take a leave of absence, he was the CEO after all and his second-in-command, Lexi, could keep everything running smoothly while he was gone; he'd stay in Mystic Falls for as long as he was needed.

"I need to meet with the family lawyer sometime this weekend to get the will and all that stuff taken care of, just in case things go all _Grey's Anatomy_. Maybe you can get Caroline to steal Elena away while that's going on. She doesn't need to know. I'm sure you won't have a problem convincing them to go shopping or something."

"I'll set everything up."

"Then Elena… she's going to need rides to the hospital and stuff. I don't want her driving back and forth all the time since I'm sure she'll probably be pretty tired. I'd rather her stay here at the house instead of alone at her place. She's already moved most of her stuff in, but I'll take her over to her place and pick up the last of it. She has nightmares sometimes, and it helps for her to have someone around to talk to. You may also be asked to bake and watch chick flicks, so just be prepared." Stefan laughed aloud at the thought of his brother baking cookies and watching rom-coms, apparently love really does change a person. "She has a phone interview next week with a magazine in Richmond for a correspondent column, she's going to try to blow it off but make sure she doesn't. She's been working really hard on her portfolio and she deserves the column."

"Of course, she's my sister after all," Stefan smiled. He was impressed at the man Damon was becoming, underneath all of the snark and bravado was a man who was completely and utterly in love. Stefan slowly stood up to make his way to the kitchen.

"We had better go check on the girls, it's been too quiet in there for Care and Lena to be cooking. I haven't even heard the smoke alarm yet."

Damon set his glass on the coffee table and stood, "Hey, Stefan," he called to his brother who turned to face him, "thanks."

"Don't mention it."

Meanwhile Caroline was in the kitchen interrogating Elena. They were sitting at the island in the center of the kitchen as Elena poured them both a glass of wine.

"I can't believe you just married Lena!" Caroline repeated for the fifth time. "I am so happy for you, so I hope you don't totally take this the wrong way, but um… why did you guys do it?"

"It's a long story," Elena shrugged, not sure if she really wanted to jump into it at the moment.

"Honey, my best friend just came home married," Caroline said as she took a glass of wine from Elena, "I've got more than enough time for a long story."

"Ok," Elena smiled girlishly, jumping onto the barstool next to Caroline. "I don't really know where to start. So, I guess I'll give you the whole thing. Damon has been having really bad headaches for the last few days and I figured maybe he was developing migraines or something like that."

"Ugh," Caroline grimaced, "migraines freaking suck."

"I know, huh?" Elena agreed, knowing that Caroline had suffered from the debilitating headaches since middle school. "Anyways I finally talked him into going to the doctor so we went this morning. And Dr. Martin didn't think anything was really that wrong but he referred Damon for some more tests and stuff, because of his parents and everything, you know?" Caroline nodded with resting her chin in her hand, engrossed in the story. "Then some doctor from the oncology depar—"

"WHAT?" Caroline screeched.

"Yeah," Elena nodded sadly.

"Oh my gosh, Lena! I'm so sorry sweetie. What's going to happen?"

"Well the doctor said that it's a meningioma, which apparently has a pretty good prognosis. She scheduled him for surgery on Monday, and then said something about maybe having to get chemo and radiation."

"Well if the doctor seems optimistic, that's good, right?"

"Yeah, I guess. But that's the story, then we went to the courthouse and got married and here we are."

"I know it doesn't seem like now, but after Damon is all better this is going to be _so_ romantic Lena!"

"Does this make me crazy?" Elena asked hesitantly.

"Totally," Caroline _didn't_ hesitate, "you're crazy in love Lena. It's not like he's some guy you just met at the Grill or something. He's Damon. And even in all his bad brother glory he's always loved you. Besides, it wouldn't be you and Damon if it wasn't a little crazy."

"I guess you're right," Elena agreed, taking a sip of her wine. "I wanted to talk to you about something. I know we haven't really had much time to really talk about… anything, really. But I wanted to officially ask you to be my maid of honor."

"Really?" Caroline jumped out of her seat and hugged Elena tightly, suffocating her for a second time. "Of course I will! Speaking of wedding-ness, I brought you some things." She ducked out of the kitchen for a brief moment and returned with a heavy-looking canvas tote bag that she plopped on to the counter in front of Elena. "I took the liberty of stopping by Barnes & Noble this morning." Elena looked through the contents of the bag and confirmed her suspicion: Caroline had bought every bridal magazine she could find.

"You are so the person for this job," Elena laughed, pulling out a magazine and handing one to Caroline. They chatted happily as they flipped through the magazines, dog-earring pages and circling different items.

When the Salvatore brothers entered the kitchen it was like they had walked into the eye of the storm. There were magazines, brochures, and catalogues scattered across the granite counter of the kitchen island. The floor was littered with small scraps of curled paper that looked like they had been trimmed from the edges of photographs. Elena and Caroline were sitting on the barstools by the island looking through the issue of _Modern Bride_ Elena had been looking through at the hospital and dog-earring pages whenever something stood out. Each of the girls had a glass of red wine in front of them and a bowl of popcorn between them. They were giggling and chatting with each other like only girlfriends can. Both Damon and Stefan looked at each other and shook their heads. Caroline noticed them first.

"Are you two done with your doom and gloom?" she chirped. Damon guessed Elena had shared their news, but Caroline was physiologically incapable of being depressed. He was suddenly so grateful that Elena would have Caroline with her through this.

"Come see what we found," Elena said as she waved Damon over. He circled the island and stood behind her, letting his hand fall to her hip. She pointed at a few color palates and bridesmaids dresses.

"Looks good baby, but…. I don't speak this language so I will leave this to you and Blondie here." He did love her smile though, and if planning this wedding made her happy he was 100% behind it. He would let her have a wedding every year if it would make her happy.

"You guys have to change," Caroline said pushing the men out of the kitchen, "everyone is going to be here in a half hour for your big reveal, part deux. Just kidding, I already told them you got married so they're just coming over to drink your liquor."

* * *

**A/N: Big plot development! Let me know what you think. Your reviews inspire me to post more quickly. Also what are you guys thinking of the chapter length: ok or too long? Anyways, next up: the gang gets into the Dom ;), Dalaric bromance, and more... :)**


	9. Chapter 9: Little Talks

_So the crummy weather has been great for writing, not so great for ensuring a stable internet connection to post said writing. Alas, here's another fluffy chapter, I know, I know... but what can I say? I'm a romantic ;) I promise angst, drama, and less cuteness in the next chapter. BTW, almost 100 reviews?! Insane, fantastically and beautifully insane :D _

_Barbara SGB- More cuteness ahead :) Thank you for the review!_

_creaturefear31- Thank you for your amazing review! I'm glad you enjoy it so far. Caroline is going to go crazy about the wedding, well the next wedding ;)_

_bellax0xchristina- Here's some Dalaric for you ;) Thank you for reading!_

_noobishere- Haha, Elena definitely needs an upper like Caroline in her life. Damon breaks the news to Jeremy, I hope you like it!_

_Guest- I agree, Caroline and Stefan are too cute together. I couldn't resist the cranky city government worker ;) Thanks for reading!_

_kaybaby1127- Fast moving for sure, but who wouldn't agree to marrying Damon ;)_

_Delenalover90- Thank you so much for reading and reviewing! I hope this chapter doesn't disappoint :)_

_Alice- Thank you! Have to keep the hope alive :)_

_Guest- Thank you for your review :) The flashbacks are my favorite parts to write._

_ vikkidillard- Thank you so much! Comments like this make my day!_

_Guest- It didn't seem realistic that Damon would be threatened by Jeremy, but after watching episode 4x09... I think most sane people would be threatened by the buffed out hunter Jer ;)_

_gailechu- Thank you, thank you, thank you! I am so glad you are enjoying it so far. I promise it will end well :)_

_Guest- I find it's easy to move from sweet-angst-sweet for these two. Thank you for reading and reviewing!_

_DISCLAIMER: I do not own _The Vampire Diaries_, the characters, or their likenesses. No copyright infringement intended._

* * *

"What do you think?" Damon asked, pulling a wooden crate from one of the shelves for his brother's inspection. Caroline had sent them down to the cellar to bring some wine and champagne up for their guests. She'd put quite an elaborate plan together in under an hour. Suspiciously, her party plan involved a lot of overseeing the Salvatore brothers on wine fetching and bruschetta and crostini making tasks while she and Elena continued looking through wedding magazines.

"This is as good a time as any to break out the Dom," Stefan nodded, looking over his shoulder to see what Damon was talking about. He was busy stacking different bottles of wine into an empty box to carry back upstairs. "Should you really be drinking?" He asked off-handedly, "I mean, with the thing… and you know?"

"I'll take it easy," Damon shrugged, knowing that he probably shouldn't be imbibing, but he had all weekend to follow the good doctor's orders. _You only get married for the first time once_, he thought in justification.

"So I shouldn't bring this up?" Stefan asked, holding up a bottle of Louis XIII de Remy Martin, which their father had purchased on one of his trips to Paris when they were still children.

"No," Damon smiled, "because we should open that right now." Stefan was already tugging at the crystal stopper in the glass. When he had it open he handed it to his brother.

"You first," he said, as if he was nervous they were going to get caught in the basement. Damon took the crystal decanter and took a long quaff of the expensive cognac.

"Damn," Damon exclaimed, "that's good."

"For a couple thousand dollars it better be," Stefan said, taking a drink for himself and nodding in agreement. "Dad would throw a shit fit if he knew we were down here drinking this from the bottle."

"Wouldn't be the first time," Damon laughed, remembering the few (or more correctly, several) times that Elsbeth and Giuseppe had caught the brothers breaking into the family wine cellar as teenagers. Their father had never really been angry with them and just pretended to discipline them to appease his wife. In fact, there were a couple of times that Giuseppe had partaken in the contraband with his sons. He'd only ever had one rule: the cognac was off-limits. Those were some of Damon's fondest memories growing up, the times when his father wasn't a tycoon and his brother wasn't the protégé, they were just the Salvatore men. It was during those moments that their father passed on his wisdom on life and love. It was also during one of those _tete a tete_'s that his father told him that the best marriages aren't rooted in love alone, but also in friendship, something he remembered every day since then. "It's too bad they couldn't be here." Damon said in a bittersweet tone and Stefan knew he was referring to their parents.

"Talk about a shit fit," Stefan snorted, "can you imagine what Mom would do if you came home married? You thought Caroline was scary." It had always been Elsbeth's dream to marry off her sons in the grandest weddings money could provide.

"Blondie's harmless," Damon said and didn't miss the small smile on his brother's face at the mention of Caroline, "I think it's hard for Elena. Without her mom here and everything."

"Speaking of family… who gets the pleasure of sharing your news with Jeremy?"

"Oiy," Damon groaned, he hadn't even thought about having to confront Elena's brother… again. "I guess I should. If I tell him I have a brain tumor do you think it'll stop him from punching me?"

"Nope," Stefan answered simply.

"I'm putting you on stand-by then. I guess I should probably go call him and ask him to come over for a chat then, huh?" Damon asked reluctantly, hoping Stefan would give him some brilliant excuse to get out of it.

"Probably a good idea," Stefan agreed. Damon took one last draw from the cognac decanter and stood to carry their spoils upstairs for Caroline's approval. When they reached the kitchen and set their boxes on the counter the blonde immediately pounced on the crates.

"Nice choices," she nodded, seemingly very impressed. "Good work. Now I need your help with the patio lights," Caroline said, grabbing Stefan's sleeve and dragging him off, leaving Elena and Damon alone in the kitchen.

"Did you sample everything before you brought it up?" Elena asked, eyeing Damon playfully.

"What ever do you mean?" Damon asked feigning his innocence. He came to stand behind Elena and wrapped his arms around her middle, resting his chin on her shoulder to look at the pictures she had cut out of the magazines.

"You and Stefan both have your cat-that-ate-the-canary smiles."

"We may or may not have dipped into a _tiny_ bit of Dad's cognac."

"Ah-ha, I knew it. You guys have pretty bad poker faces," she laughed.

"I think we should call Jeremy," Damon said, rocking her slightly back and forth.

"I know," Elena whined. "But he's going to be so _Jeremy_ about it."

"I'll go call him and ask him to join us tonight," he offered. Elena turned to look at him in disbelief.

"He threatened to kill you yesterday and you want to be the one to tell him?"

"I'm just that awesome of a husband," he smirked. It still sounded weird to him to be a husband, but he was getting used to it.

"I guess you are kind of awesome," she smiled and kissed him softly.

"You can reward me later," he said in a husky voice before capturing her in surprisingly passionate kiss that left her breathless and retreating to the study to inform his brother-in-law that he was now, in fact, his brother-in-law.

"Hello?" Jeremy answered after three rings. He obviously didn't recognize Damon's number or he probably would not have been so friendly.

"Hi, Jeremy. This is Damon."

"Salvatore? Is Elena ok?" the only reason he could fathom that Damon would be calling him was if his sister was in trouble.

"Elena's fine. But, uh… I'm not really sure how to tell you this, so—"

"Just say it Salvatore, after last night _nothing_ you could say would shock me."

"Hold that thought, because Elena and I got married today."

Damon was met with nothing but silence on the other end of the line. The phone hadn't returned to the dial tone, so he was sure that Jeremy hadn't hung up.

"Gilbert? You still there?"

"Yeah, I'm still here," Jeremy answered gruffly, "are you fucking around with me?"

"No," Damon answered, trying not to get snarky with the older Gilbert, "I thought you deserved to know. I know you're not going to be happy about it, and you probably want to kill me right now or still, I guess. But we're having some people over to the house tonight and it would mean a lot to Elena if you came."

"Ok," Jeremy sighed on the other end of the line, knowing that he'd have to get over it sooner or later. "What time?"

"Seven," Damon said, trying to keep his "yes!" inaudible and inconspicuous.

"Tell Elena I'll be there," and with that he hung up. Damon couldn't help but feel like he really was the most awesome husband ever. He put his phone back in his pocket and sauntered out of the study to finish getting everything ready for tonight.

"_Mr. Salvatore_," Ric grinned when Damon answered the incessant knocking at the door.

"That's only cute for the woman," Damon rolled his eyes, "my name hasn't changed genius."

"Now, is that anyway to speak to family?" Ric asked, walking past Damon as he pushed a bottle of bourbon into his hands. "Wedding present."

"How hard did you pre-party?" Damon asked. Ric was generally a high-spirited guy, but his goofy grin was out of character, even for him.

"I didn't pre-party at all, I wanted to be in tip-top shape to celebrate your marriage to my almost-niece, _nephew_," Ric answered.

"Shit," Damon muttered. He hadn't even thought about how marrying Elena would alter his closely-related social circle.

"How about you pour your Uncle Ric a drink?" he so rarely ever got the upper hand on Damon, he had to take advantage of this while he could.

"I think we're going to need an annulment," Damon groaned, closing the front door and following Ric into the parlor. "Where's Jenna?"

"She'll be here soon, she had to drop the last of her things off at Elena's or used-to-be-Elena's house. I'm going to need a graph or something to keep up with all of this."

"We're working on the app right now," Damon remarked dryly.

"On a serious note though, congratulations," Ric said simply.

"Thanks," Damon smiled slightly.

"The infamous Damon Salvatore is the only married man in this house right now. I'm going to have to redefine my entire world view," Ric laughed, taking a glass of bourbon from his friend. "So… Monday, huh?"

"Yep."

"I'll Tivo _Bones_," Ric offered light-heartedly, "I might even wait to watch it until you get home. We'll make a family night out of it." He couldn't resist the last jab at Damon.

"I guess everyone has that one creepy uncle," Damon smirked.

"Seeing as you are still alive and in one piece, I take it you haven't shared the good news with Jeremy yet," Ric observed. He hadn't seen their encounter the night before but if Jeremy's frown and Elena's tears were any indication, it hadn't gone well. Jenna had filled him in a little bit on Damon and Jeremy's history and he was hoping he wouldn't be expected to pick a side.

"I called him and told him. He's coming tonight. Stefan is on 9-1-1 stand by, just in case."

"Well if it makes you feel any better, Jenna is totes over the moon about it."

"Don't say 'totes,' Ric," Damon shook his head, sometimes it was like talking to Elena in high school all over again. Just then there was another knock at the door.

"Speak of the devil, that's probably Jenna now," Ric noted.

When Damon opened the door Elena's aunt hugged him tightly around the neck in a very Caroline-esque way.

"Ahhh Damon Salvatore," Jenna squealed and released Damon to breathe again, "Caroline told me everything. How are you?"

"I'm fine, never better," Damon answered honestly.

"It's so romantic, what you did for Elena. I think you've destroyed your bad boy reputation literally overnight," Jenna joked. _Hear that Elena? I'm Mr. Romantic now, suck it Darcy_, Damon thought to himself.

"Is that Jenna?" Elena called from the hallway before appearing in the entryway and jumping to hug her aunt. The two women were so close in age that they were more like sisters than aunt and niece. It had been a long time since Damon had seen Elena so ebullient and happy; she had always been that way before the accident and it reminded him of how much he missed that side of her. He promised himself that he would strive everyday to make her this happy.

"OK, let me see!" Jenna demanded and Elena held out her left hand for her aunt's inspection. Jenna took her hand and looked carefully at her rings, Elena looked over a Damon and winked at him with a joyful smile. She took his breath away. There were so many times in his life when he looked at her and thought _I could never love her more than I do right now_ and this was one of those moments; but given that he had been proven wrong every other time, he knew that he'd continue falling deeper and deeper in love with his wife who had been his best friend only a week before.

"Come on, I have so much to show you," Elena told Jenna, bouncing with anticipation and the two women left the entryway arm-in-arm.

"They're something aren't they?" Ric said, watching his fiancée affectionately.

"Damn right," Damon agreed. The two men looked at each other and laughed knowingly. They had come a long way since they met on the lacrosse team in college when their only concern was where the next keg was coming from. Elena had introduced her aunt to Ric when she came to visit for one of their three-day weekends. The two hit it off instantly and kept in touch while Jenna was finishing grad school and Ric was working on his teaching credential. As soon as they were both back in Mystic Falls Ric proposed, a commitment for which Damon made fun of him about for months. Every time Ric countered with the "I can't wait until you and Elena get engaged" argument Damon swore that it would never happen and that he'd be a bachelor forever. Their jovial mood shifted when Ric saw Jeremy's car pull up in the circular driveway.

"Err… looks like Stefan might need some help with whatever he's doing on the patio. Good luck," Ric said as he shuffled away, patting Damon on the back of the shoulder. Damon took a deep breath and prepared for the worst.

"Jeremy," Damon greeted in a tentative tone, holding out his hand as a gesture of truce. He'd been hoping like crazy that tonight would go better with Elena's brother than last night had. Part of him wanted to be snide and crude and rub it in Jeremy's face that he just married his little sister. For his part, he couldn't care less if Jeremy liked him or approved of his and Elena's relationship but he knew it mattered to her so he made a concerted effort to be civil.

"Damon," Jeremy replied tersely but returned Damon's handshake. _First name and a handshake, I'm on fire tonight_ Damon thought to himself.

"So you _do_ know my name," Damon said, and instantly reminded himself that it was too early to joke around. "Yeah… so, anyways, come on in, make yourself at home," he offered, stepping aside to hold the door open.

"Thanks," Jeremy entered the house. He hesitated for a moment before turning back to Damon, "Caroline called on my way over and filled me in. I'm sorry about your, uh… situation."

"Caroline probably made it sound worse than it is," Damon shrugged, not sure how to reply. "I didn't plan it like this at all, I just wanted to make sure that Elena is taken care of if anything happens."

"If my sister is happy, I'm happy," Jeremy said, his voice softening a little. He still wasn't the biggest fan of Damon, but he really seemed to have Elena's best interest at heart.

"I _almost_ believe you Gilbert," Damon said jokingly.

"You think Elena will believe it?" Jeremy asked, matching Damon's jesting tone.

"She and Caroline have been hitting the wine pretty hard, so I'd say your chances are good." Damon began walking in the direction of the patio where Stefan and Ric were lighting the outdoor heater.

"Hey Salvatore," Jeremy said, making Damon turn quickly to face him, "I still don't like you, but… thanks, for looking out for Elena. I, uh… I appreciate it. You're important to her and I'm… I'm glad she has someone to be there for her."

"Thanks," Damon responded in the only way he could think to. He was shocked that Jeremy seemed to accept their quickie marriage. This was not at all how he expected this encounter to go down. He fully expected more yelling, a salvo of threats, and maybe a trip to the hospital to get his nose splinted. "Elena is really important to me, too." There were a few moments of awkward silence between the two men. "She's around here somewhere with Caroline and Jenna."

"Right, yeah. I'll go and find them."

Damon could see Stefan and Ric watching carefully from the patio, waiting to see if they would need to intervene. They looked as puzzled as Damon when Jeremy walked away to look for his sister. He joined his friend and his brother on the patio, standing close to the warmth of the propane heater.

"What the hell? It's snowing out here, why did you even turn this on Stef? It's a boarding house, by definition it was built to entertain people _inside_," Damon said, back on his game after his awkward interaction with Jeremy.

"Caroline told me to," Stefan shrugged.

"You guys haven't slept together yet, huh?" Ric observed.

"What?! That's… it's not like that," Stefan stumbled reticently.

"You've done everything she told you to, obviously you haven't slept with her yet," Ric shrugged knowingly.

"He wants to though. Isn't that right Stef?" Damon said, punching his brother in the arm.

"No… I'm not talking about this right now," Stefan was blushing bright red and kicking at the snow bashfully.

"Guess what he did?" Damon said to Ric, "he _stole_ my date. The fusion place in Somerset—he's taking Caroline there."

"It worked out for you," Ric said, clearly amused at the younger Salvatore's embarrassment, "better save some of the Dom, we may have another wedding to celebrate next week."

"You know, I did see Caroline circling _a lot_ of things in those magazines," Damon said with a hint of conspiracy in his voice.

"Maybe we can get a group wedding discount," Ric brightly suggested.

"Caroline and I aren't getting married," Stefan groaned. He was clearly exasperated with his brother and Ric's antics.

"Yet," Damon added, attempting to be cheeky.

"Pool time!" Ric announced, "I'm putting $50 on you being engaged one year from now."

Damon eyed his brother critically as if he was evaluating a derby horse, "Double or nothing, eighteen months." Just then Jeremy came out to join them with a beer in hand and a smile on his face. "Gilbert!" Damon said, waving him over, "over-under on Stefan and Caroline getting engaged?"

"Don't listen to them Jer, they're just messing around," Stefan said dismissively.

"I'll go with $50 for under a year," Jeremy said. He and Stefan had been close growing up despite their age difference. Stefan always wanted to study at the Gilbert house because he knew that Caroline would be there hanging out with Elena. Jeremy was the one who advised Stefan to ask Caroline to Prom, and he was also the first one Stefan called when he learned that Caroline was already planning to go with Tyler Lockwood. He figured that it was only a matter of time before they ended up together.

"Way to throw me under the bus," Stefan grumbled.

"Aww, look at all of our boys playing nicely together," Caroline cooed from the parlor, watching the four men on the patio laughing together over a round of beers.

"I never thought I would see the day," Jenna remarked. "Jeremy and Damon haven't taken a single swing at each other yet."

"More like Jeremy hasn't kicked Damon's ass yet," Caroline snorted, "no offense Lena, but I don't think your man would stand a chance against Jer."

"So Caroline, I heard you and Stefan have a date?" Elena said, trying not to give that she already knew about their dinner plans.

"Oh Lena, I know you heard every single word Stefan and I said and I know you and Damon were getting dirty in the closet when I came to pick up my files." Jenna's jaw dropped wide open at Caroline's statement.

"What?! How did you…? But—" Elena stuttered, trying to cover her red ears with her hair.

"I wasn't born yesterday. Your clothes were all over the foyer and Damon is too obsessive to leave it that way. And you guys aren't as quiet as you seem to think you are," Caroline explained. She found it amusing that Elena thought she was being sneaky.

"Don't sweat it Lena, it happens to the best of us," Jenna shrugged, taking a drink from her wine glass.

"I second that sister," Caroline agreed, clinking her glass against Jenna's. "There's nothing wrong with healthy sexual expression. But to answer your previous question, yes. Stefan and I are going out on a date… again."

"Where did you go after the party last night?" Elena asked. She'd had so many burning questions about Stefan and Caroline's budding relationship since she heard them that morning.

"We came back here," Caroline said non-chalantly.

"I didn't see you," Elena noted, confused as to how Caroline could have spent the night at the boarding house while escaping both her and Damon's notice.

"Practice makes perfect," Caroline chortled, "maybe I can give you and Uno lessons on how to be stealthy."

"You should have seen her trying to sneak Damon to her room in high school?" Jenna said to Caroline while filling her plate with bruschetta.

"I never snuck Damon into my… ok, fine," Elena conceded when she saw Jenna looking back at her with her eyebrow raised. "Were we really that obvious?"

"Your dad threatened to cut that tree down outside of your window, but Mir asked him not to because we had too much fun to watching Damon try to climb it to get to your window. And then when you tried to sneak him through the front door… you never seemed to notice the mirror right next to the door that reflected into the kitchen window."

"He used to climb a tree to your window?" Caroline swooned.

"Sort of," Jenna laughed and launched into the saga of Damon's tree-climbing mishaps.

_Flashback_

"Honey, what was that noise?" Miranda called to her husband who was at the kitchen table working on his patient records on his laptop. She and Jenna were sitting on the couch finishing the last part of _Gone With the Wind_. It sounded like something was scraping against the siding of the house.

"I don't know sweetheart," Grayson pushed his chair back and set his glasses on the table to go inspect the noise his wife was talking about. She was always worrying about the things that went bump in the night, but they lived in Mystic Falls and, for the most part, nothing bad ever happened. "Where did you hear it?" he asked as he entered the living room.

"It sounded like the side of the house," Miranda pointed without removing her eyes from the TV. Grayson just smiled warmly at her, she and her sister had watched that movie a thousand times but were never less than enraptured. He walked to the window and pulled back the curtain slightly. He chuckled quietly to himself when he saw a young man clumsily trying to climb the tree next to the house.

"It's just Damon," he told his wife. It wasn't the first time that he'd caught the Salvatore boy trying to sneak into his daughter's room by way of tree. The Gilberts and the Salvatores were very close and Grayson was great friends with both of Damon's parents. While most parents would have had a conniption at the thought of their daughter sneaking a boy into their room at night, Gray trusted his daughter and Damon. Elena's bedroom shared a wall with his own and he and Miranda would have known if Elena ever gave them a reason to re-evaluate their trust, but he knew that the most the two ever did was fall asleep watching movies. Gray just shook his head knowingly and went back to preparing his records.

"Again?" his wife asked and she and Jenna bustled to the window, leaving Scarlett and Rhett alone in he living room.

"Do you think he actually thinks he's being sly?" Jenna asked her sister.

"You think this is bad, you should see Elena try to sneak him out in the morning," Miranda answered. Her daughter was many things, but sneaky wasn't one of them. Somehow Elena still hadn't caught on that there just happened to be extra pancakes and a "spare" glass of orange juice on the counter on the nights Damon stayed over. Miranda was a mother at heart, and she never wanted to send the boy home with an empty stomach, breakfast was the most important meal of the day after all.

"Damon!" Elena whispered harshly, not knowing that her mother and aunt could hear every word. "What is taking you so long?" It was all Miranda and Jenna could do to keep from bursting out in laughter and giving their spy position away.

"It's not taking 'so long,' the bark is just a little slippery from the sprinklers," Damon retorted, a little insulted that Elena would be questioning his tree-climbing prowess.

"You're going to break your neck. Why don't you just use the door?" Elena asked.

"I think your mom and Jenna are in the living room," he answered, reaching for a branch that was a little too far out of his grasp. He lost his footing on the tree and plummeted to the ground, falling flat on his back in the wet grass.

"Damon?" Elena asked, and Miranda and Jenna could hear her shuffling across the floor above them. "You're not dead, are you?"

He just groaned in response.

"Don't move ok, I'm going to go get my Dad," she instructed.

"No! I just knocked the wind out of myself, I'm fine" he didn't want to get caught. Little did he know, everyone already knew what he was doing and had been doing a few times a week for the last few years.

"Do you think he's ok?" Jenna asked Miranda.

"Gray!" Miranda called softly. Her husband appeared behind the two women, joining their stake out. "Damon just landed on his back pretty hard, can you go check on him?"

"He's fine, honey," he dismissed.

"He hasn't moved yet," she was genuinely concerned for the boy's well-being.

"He'll be a little sore tomorrow, but if I go out there now his pride will be wounded."

"Sweetheart, please. He'll go over a little ego bruising, but what if he's really hurt?"

"He's not," Gray decided, "and the ego bruising would be far worse. He wouldn't want to seem weak in front of Elena. Neither one of them may know it but he's courting her. Let her take care of him, dear." He knew that the older Salvatore boy and his daughter had a special connection and while they were dead set on labeling that connection as "friendship" everyone close to them knew better.

"Are you sure?" Miranda asked. Damon rolled over in the grass and pushed himself up slowly, brushing the wet pieces of grass off of his jacket.

"See, he's fine," Gray pointed and returned to his work.

"It's pretty adorable though, right?" Jenna asked, elbowing her sister.

"It is," Miranda sighed. They watched as he made it up the tree successfully and jumped to the roof with a loud thump. "How do they think _no one_ hears this?"

They heard Elena's bedroom door open and they dashed back to the couch, trying to look inconspicuous. The girl padded lightly down the stairs and headed for the kitchen. She returned in a few moments with a bag of frozen peas and a dishtowel. Miranda couldn't resist asking her daughter what the peas were for.

"Oh," Elena looked down at the bag in her hands, "my ankle is a little sore from cheer practice, I was just going to ice it a bit before bed."

"There's ibuprofen in the cabinet if you need some sweetie," Miranda said winking at her sister. Elena told her mother and aunt goodnight and ran back up the stairs on two perfectly good ankles. Miranda and Jenna just looked at each other and burst into a fit of girlish giggles.

_Present_

"I can't believe you guys knew all along," Elena said, covering her red cheeks, "that's so embarrassing!" Jenna and Caroline were laughing so hard that she found it impossible not to join in.

For the first time in a long time, Elena was truly happy. She wished her parents could be there to celebrate everything with her, but she had a different kind of family now. In a way, Jeremy had been right when he said she was wanted a family again. She had never wanted to replace her parents, but she missed the feeling of belonging that only family can bring. She missed the security and unconditional love of a family. It wasn't until that night when she saw her best friend and her aunt laughing together, and her husband, brother, brother-in-law, and uncle joking on the patio that she realized she'd had a family all along. It was oddly-matched and a little dysfunctional, but just knowing these people were in her life made her heart swell with happiness.

"Lena, what's wrong?" Caroline asked when she saw a tear fall from Elena's eye.

"Nothing, I just… I'm just _so_ happy you guys. I didn't think I'd ever feel this way," Elena was crying in earnest now, "I know it's corny and trite and you're going to laugh at me for months, but I really love you guys."

"Aww, Elena," Jenna said, hugging her niece tightly. Caroline leapt over to them and joined in their hug. Just then the men were heading back in from the patio.

"Uh oh, womanly events happening," Ric said quietly to Damon. When Damon saw the tears that Elena was trying to swipe away without ruining her make up he went into instant protective mode. She could see his change in countenance and just shook her head and smiled at him to say that she was fine.

"So, crying is my new hobby now," Elena announced, trying to let everyone know she was ok. Jeremy laughed at his sister's comment, crying had _always_ been her hobby. She cried when she was happy, she cried when she was sad, she cried when she saw something cute and fluffy, she cried when she ate gourmet chocolate—Elena was a "feeler," as their mother used to say.

"Oh, toast time!" Caroline shrieked, "I'll get the champagne. Stefan, come help me." Stefan followed her immediately and Damon and Ric burst into laughter, only laughing harder when Stefan tried to shoot them an evil glare. Damon flopped on the sofa next to Elena. Jenna, Ric, and Jeremy were talking about his graduate program so the newlyweds had a few private seconds before the champagne came out.

"Thank you for not getting murdered," Elena whispered to Damon, twisting the new ring on his finger. She'd been playing with hers all afternoon and was noting how different Damon's was in size but how similar it was in the small details. The rings were a matched pair, just like their new owners.

"He took it really well," Damon answered, smiling at Elena's need to touch him whenever they were close. He would have made a sarcastic comment about her not being able to get enough of him, but he didn't want to spoil the mood.

"I love you," she said happily.

"I love you, too."

"I have a surprise for you for later," she purred in his ear.

"What kind of surprise?" he asked, clearly very interested in what she had in store for him.

"You'll like it," she promised.

"Is it lingerie?" he asked, "oh please let it be lingerie. Let me guess: naughty nurse costume? No, wait! Barely there matching panty set?"

"God, Damon," Elena exclaimed, pushing him away and feigning disgust. She thought his enthusiasm was adorable though, and she hoped he wouldn't be disappointed.

"Yes, I'm right aren't I?" he asked, pressing for more details, "black? Or red? Definitely red. You seem to be in a red, lacy mood." She was surprised at his lingerie guessing skills and tried not to think about the extensive experience required to develop such intuition. "I'm going to peel that off you with my teeth." She was flushing at his words, and embarrassed by his brazenness to be discussing something like that with company in the room. Granted he was whispering, but Elena would have died or mortification if any of their guests overheard him. "Right before I—"

"Champagne time!" Caroline announced, coming back from the kitchen just in time. Elena didn't think she could handle it if Damon kept talking dirty. She started handing out flutes to everyone. "To Elena and Damon. You guys are so cute I want to punch you sometimes but I couldn't ask for a better guy for my best friend. When I produce the world's greatest chick flick based on the notes I've been keeping on you guys, I promise that you will get fair royalties."

Damon was falling asleep on the sofa in the parlor when Elena came back in from saying 'goodbye' to all of their guests. He wouldn't have admitted it even if she asked him, but he was exhausted from the day. Even in sleep he looked tired but he was still devastatingly handsome. She moved towards him quietly, avoiding the floorboard near the door that always creaked. She knelt in front of her husband slowly pulling off his boots to make him more comfortable. Despite being careful not to wake him his eye flicked open to meet hers.

"I was just resting my eyes for a minute," he said as he stretched his arms in front of him. He leaned over to kiss her, when their lips met any trace of fatigue vanished from his bones. He pulled her up to him so she was straddling his hips on the couch. "Is everyone gone?"

"Mhmm," she wove her fingers into his inky black hair and massaged his scalp eliciting a purr from him. She could feel him hardening beneath her and gently bit down on his lower lip then sucking on it gently to soothe the bite.

"Bedroom?" she mumbled against his mouth.

"Yes," he replied, standing up from the couch without breaking their contact. "Run." Much like their run of near-shame this morning, Elena dashed up the stairs with Damon in hot pursuit, only this time when she reached the bedroom she reclined calmly on the bed and let him come to her.

"Now, let me see my present," he demanded, jumping on the bed and standing before her on his knees. He grabbed for her blouse to yank it from her body, but she brushed his had away

"Let me take care of you first," she said seductively, mirroring his words to her last night. Just the thought of how exactly she would be taking care of him sent a shiver up his spine and all of his blood rushing south. She moved from her prone position and stood on her knees like he was. She ran her hands over his chest appreciatively and began to unbutton his shirt slowly. He was losing patience with her teasing and reached out to pull at her blouse again.

"No touching," she admonished, batting his hands away. "You'll get your present, just be patient for once." He decided that it would be best to comply because he liked where she was going with her sex kitten act. When she finished with all of the buttons she tugged his shirt over his shoulders and he peeled it off of his arms. Next, she grabbed at his leather belt and undid the buckle, roughly freeing it from the belt loops of his jeans. "Lie down," she ordered and he happily complied. He fell back against the pillows and stretched his hands behind his head to watch her. She surprised him by jumping to her feet on the mattress and giving him a sweet, innocent smile. What she did next was anything but innocent as she started to slowly strip for him. She unbuttoned her blouse just as slowly as she had unbuttoned his and shrugged out of the silky material. Keeping her eyes locked with his she slowly ran her hands over her breasts and down her stomach until she reached the hem of her camisole and pulled it up inch and inch before she pulled it over her head and tossed it with her blouse. He was spot on about her choice of lingerie. She was wearing a blood red brocade bra with an intricate floral pattern and small rhinestones on the straps.

"Fuck," he muttered, "you are trying to drive me crazy."

"Maybe," she grinned as she popped the button on her jeans and pushed them over her hips and down her legs to reveal her matching panties. She kicked off her pants and dropped back down to her knees, crawling catlike over the length of his reposed body. "Maybe not." He was trying to keep his hands behind his head, but when she was close enough to trail her fingers along his jawline he made a sudden grab for her, which she ducked away from.

"No touching," she growled impishly.

"God," he groaned, "you're going to kill me Elena. I need you."

"Just be patient, Damon!" she was starting get frustrated with him. She put a lot of work into talking herself into the striptease/seductress act and she didn't want it to be ruined by his inability to delay gratification. She shimmied down his torso trailing feather light kisses across his chest and stomach keeping her eyes locked with his the entire time. She gave him another angelic smile and popped the button of his jeans open and unzipped the fly. She freed his throbbing erection from its denim confines and he writhed in anticipation. _Fuck, this is really happening_, he thought to himself. He had fantasized about Elena going down on him since they were in high school. Imagining her plump pink lips wrapped around him had been mental fodder for many of his "self-appreciation" nights.

"What was that?" she asked, apparently his inner monologue wasn't so inner.

"Nothing, sorry. Just keep going," he said quickly. He squeezed his eyes shut and tried to remind himself of her no touching rule. She had gotten his jeans off and then nothing. He peeked one eye open, checking if she was still there, "what's wrong?" he asked, trying not to let his frustration become evident. She was kneeling on her knees looking confused and slightly embarrassed.

"I, uh… this isn't going to hurt you is it?" she asked him, showing just how far in over her head she was.

"No, no, it won't hurt, just be careful of your teeth. You were doing good, please Lena," he begged for some release. "Please just touch me, I'm going to die." He knew he was being dramatic, but he in serious discomfort and he needed her. She shifted on the mattress and took him in her mouth. As much as he wanted to play by her rules, he couldn't help digging his fingers in her long brown hair to guide her moments. Despite her inexperience she tried to take him as deeply as she could and he tightened his fingers in her locks when he felt his tip hit the back of her throat.

"Jesus, Elena… fuck… that's good," he sounded like a bumbling idiot who couldn't string two words together. His muttering made her chuckle and he moaned even louder as the vibration from her laugh shot through his body. She removed her mouth and ran her tongue over his entire length slowly and he nearly lost it.

"Stop," he gasped reaching for her shoulders to pull her up over him, "stop."

"What? Why?" she pouted and was suddenly self-conscious. She had never done anything like that before and was just going off things she'd read or heard about from her girlfriends. "Did I do something wrong?"

"No, that was good baby, so good," he still couldn't think straight, but she thought he was just stalling to avoid telling her she was horrible at it. She blushed furiously and started to move away from him but he stopped her. "It's our wedding night, when I cum I want to be inside you."

Before she could say anything else he pulled her to the bed and rolled on top of her. He kissed her like he'd never kissed anyone before, with blinding passion and raw honesty. He drew back slightly to study her face. When he did she caressed his face with such affection and tenderness he thought his heart stopped.

"What's wrong?" she whispered, brushing the locks of hair from his forehead.

"Nothing," he smiled. "Just taking everything in. You looked happy this evening."

"I was," she said as she pulled him back to her lips, "I am."

She was so lost in his kiss that she didn't notice him inching her panties down or pulling the covers over their bodies. She drew in a harsh breath when he entered her. His pace was slow and unhurried for the first time since they'd been together. Tonight they would get lost in each other and scorch each other in a slow burn.

* * *

**A/N: I hope you liked that one :) I know I say it all the time, but your reviews mean so much to me and I am just freaking beside myself with happiness every time I get those e-mails saying there's a new follower/favorite for this story. Next up: some drama, some angst, secrets, etc... **


	10. Chapter 10: It's Time

_Hello again, friends! I hope everyone had a fantastic holiday filled with family, relaxation, and lots and lots of delicious food. All of your reviews, follows, and favorites made my Christmas very merry! The last chapter got almost 20 reviews alone, WOW! We've got a little angst in this chapter and get a little more into D/E's history of avoiding their feelings for each other. I still have the rest of the week off from classes so I am hoping to have a new chapter up very soon. I hope you all enjoy the update! _

_noobishere- I'm glad you liked the flashback! I thought it would be funny to see a less elegant side of Damon, lol. A little angst here :)_

_Alice- Thank you! I'm so glad you enjoyed the chapter :)_

_Barbara SGB- Thank you for the review!_

_bellax0xchristina- Who doesn't love a little Team Badass? They have such an epic bromance :) I hope you enjoy the update._

_Miss-Tyk- Feelers of the world unite! I'll bring the tissues ;)_

_CharlSmith- Thank you for reading and reviewing :)_

_AislinnNicole1- Thank you for the kind words! All's well that ends well, no tragedy looming here (I love D/E too much for that, lol). I hope you enjoy the new flashback :)_

_CosmicButton- I'm glad you liked the fluff, I just can't help myself :)_

_VikkiDillard- Merci beaucoup! I hope you enjoy this chapter :)_

_ash512forever- Thank you for reading and commenting, I really appreciate it!_

_Angelfan984- Thank you! I was a little worried about the last chapter, I'm glad you enjoyed it :)_

_Abgypig84- I'm glad you liked the scene with the guys, they all seem like they'd be fun to hang out with. Hope you enjoy the update :)_

_GingerGeorgia- Thank you for reading and reviewing! Go fellow ginger ;)_

_Guest- Thank you for your review. I'm glad you liked the flashback :)_

_vivianafrancesca- Welcome to the story! I'm glad you are enjoying it so far. I couldn't resist a little over the top Damon drunk babble about waffles :) Hope you enjoy the new chapter._

_kaybaby1127- Jeremy still isn't shipping Delena, but he's going to be on his sister's side no matter what :)_

_VampireGleek77- Thank you! I hope you enjoy the update, hopefully I'll have another one shortly :)_

_Kay- Thank you so very much! Damon's one-liners are too good not to include here and there. Omg, if Julie Plec ever contacted me I'd be like "yes ma'am" and then I'd need all of your names to include in a shout out scene ;)_

_Kay5892- Thank you! I hope you like the new chapter :)_

* * *

_Cold. Bone-chilling cold. That was the first thing her body registered. It was quiet. Too quiet, it was almost… peaceful. She cracked open her eyes and saw red and blue lights dancing across the pine trees that hovered over her. A small patch of starry sky peeked out from the clouds above, but tiny drops of icy rain were still falling catching the lights like so many prisms. She wanted to close her eyes and fall asleep, but her nerves began to feed more and more information to her addled brain. She was lying on something hard and rough: _the ground_, she thought. Her entire body was cold except for something thick and warm dripping down her forehead and across the side of her face. She tried to move her fingers and toes and they complied, next she tried to bend her knees and they, too, followed her orders. Her next feat was to attempt to sit up but a hand grabbed her firmly on the shoulder and pushed her back down. A strange face appeared before her, the face's lips were moving but she could hear no sound. She concentrated more carefully on what the man was saying and she could hear his voice faintly as though he were standing at the end of a tunnel. _

_"Can you tell me your name miss?" he asked again, shining a small light into each of her eyes. She noted that he was wearing a thick yellow jacket and matching pants with suspenders. _

_"E… Elena," she replied shakily. She didn't recognize the scratchy voice that came from her mouth._

_"Elena, do you know where you are?" the man she now recognized as a firefighter asked her._

_"Um," she looked around trying to find something that would tell her where she was. There were sparkling bits of glass across the dark surface she was sitting on. The lights she had seen earlier were coming from two fire engines, an ambulance, and several police cars parked around her. Men and women in different uniforms were floating around with flashlights and bags in their hands. It didn't make any sense. "Sorry," she apologized to the firefighter asking her questions, "but I—" then she saw a mangled piece of metal that looked like it could have been a guard rail at one point in its life and everything surged back into her memory. They had been driving and talking about the song on the radio when a pair of headlights crossed the double yellow lines in the middle of the road, invading their lane. Damon had tried to swerve—_

_"Damon?!" Elena exclaimed, trying to sit up again and pull the oxygen mask off that the firefighter had placed over her face. "Where's Damon? My husband? Please, where is he?"_

_"I'm sorry, ma'am," the man looked down. "Don't try to sit up just yet."_

_"Sorry? No! Where is he?" she cried, her tears mixing with the blood and dirt on her face. "I need to see him, please. Please, tell him I need him!"_

_"There wasn't anything we could do for your husband, it was too late" he shook his head._

"Damon!" she screamed to an empty room, still shaking in a cold sweat from her dream. She looked around the room until things began to come into focus in the silvery moonlight that shone through the window and she realized she was in Damon's room, or rather _their_ room. The clock on the nightstand showed "4:13 AM" in bright green letters. "Damon?" she called again but got no answer. His side of the bed was empty and she had no way of knowing how long he stayed with her after she fell asleep. She pulled back the blankets and sheets that were tangled around her legs and pushed herself up to sit on the edge of the bed. Over the past week she had gotten increasingly better at navigating the path from the bed to the bathroom in the dark and she had her robe wrapped around her in a few seconds.

She opened the door to the bedroom carefully and tip-toed down the hall towards the stairs, she didn't know if Stefan was home and didn't want to risk waking him in the pale morning hours; unlike his brother, he kept normal human hours. Once she was downstairs she looked out the back window and saw that the lights were still off in Damon's workshop and he wasn't in the parlor so the only place left to look was the study. Just as she suspected she found him there at his desk with only the small desk lamp on.

"Damon?" she called out, her voice nothing more than a tiny peep since she was still shaken from her nightmare. His back straightened instantly and he shuffled some papers on his desk before turning around.

"Elena, what are you doing up?" he seemed a little surprised to see her there at that time of night but when he saw her puffy, red eyes he easily figured out the reason. "Are you ok?"

"No," her shoulders dropped and she darted across the room towards him and fell into his lap as a little Elena ball. She clutched tightly to the worn hoodie he was wearing as if she was afraid he would vaporize.

"More nightmares?" he asked softly, smoothing his hands over her wild hair and kissing the crown of her head.

"It was you this time," she said quietly as a single tear ran down her face. The dream had been so real, just as real as being in his arms at that moment.

"But it wasn't baby, I'm right here," he replied in his best comforting tone and wrapping her in a tight bear hug like he had on so many nights before. "It was just a dream, I'm never going to leave you." She let his warmth envelope her and the steady sound of his heartbeat calmed her. _Just a dream_, she kept telling herself. _Just a dream_.

"What are you working on?" she reached for the papers on his desk to see what was keeping him up at night. She figured it was more concept drawings, and she loved looking at his drawings since it was like a window to his creative mind.

"Nothing," he answered quickly, trying to grab the papers away from her but she had already seen the heading.

"_Last Will and Testament_," she read aloud, "what is this Damon?"

"I think you just answered that," he didn't feel like explaining what she already knew. She climbed out of his lap and riffled through the other papers on his desk to find bank statements, the title to his house, investment certificates, and a bunch of legal documents she didn't recognize. He ran his hands through his hair and braced himself for her wrath.

"What is all of this?" she asked, starting to panic.

"Elena, calm down, ok sweetheart? Just give me a second and I can explain," he ran his hands over her arms to try and soothe her

She looked down at the will clenched in her fist and noticed a strange date on the coversheet: May 21, 2007. She and Damon were still in college and were roommates at the time. He had never mentioned anything about a will to her, and it seemed strange that a 23 year old would have a will to begin with. She began to put the pieces together and she took a few steps back from him.

"You knew?" she asked with disbelief, hoping that she was wrong and he hadn't been lying to her.

"Elena—" the depth of devastation in her eyes broke his heart.

"You knew, didn't you?" she sobbed, unable to keep her emotions in check when he didn't deny it.

"Elena, please, just let me explain," he pled.

"Didn't you?!" she demanded.

"No, I didn't I swear."

"This," she held up his will, "would suggest otherwise."

"That was just a precaution, Elena. My mom had just passed away a few months before and I didn't want to leave another mess for my dad and Stefan to take care of if something happened."

"What was the 'something' Damon? Why would you write this?"

"It was nothing, baby, I promise. I had to get a CT scan after I got hit in lacrosse and the doctor was a little concerned about the results."

"But you said you were ok after that. You told me everything was fine!" Elena was at the game he was talking about and she saw the hit he'd taken from one of the opposing players that left him unconscious on the field for a few minutes. He'd been taken to the hospital in an ambulance at his coach's insistence, even though he seemed fine by the time the paramedics arrived. He texted her from the hospital and told her everything was fine and they just had to do insurance paperwork to release the school from liability.

"Everything was fine. I saw a neurologist at Johns Hopkins and he said it probably wasn't anything to worry about at the time but there was a slim possibility of metastasis in the future."

"Neurologist? But you said—"

"I told you Stefan and I were going to Baltimore for a couple of days, and we did."

"You lied to me," she said, trying to sniffle back her tears. They had never lied to each other about anything in the past, even if the truth had been painful.

"I didn't lie to you Elena," he responded firmly. He hated the fact that she construed his silence on the subject as a lie.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't want you to get worried about nothing, which it was _nothing_. Given how you're acting now, I'd say it was a pretty good decision."

His flippancy wounded her deeply. The fact that he could be sarcastic and dismissive of her concern for him provoked the tiny voice deep in her psyche that told her to draw the figurative bridges and fight back. She doused the desire to lash out at him but when she looked up and saw him glaring at her with a piqued expression on his face her eyes flashed with ferocity. She could feel the heat of her anger rise to her cheeks, giving her a bellicose glow. She drew her hand back and swung as hard as she could. He caught her wrist before she could make contact with his cheek and lowered her arm to her side, closing the distance between their bodies so she could feel his warm breath fan across her face as he spoke.

"Don't e_ver_ do that again," he growled, tightening his grip on her wrist slightly when she tried to pull away.

"Let go of me, Damon," she seethed, yanking her arm to free herself, but to no avail.

"You need to calm down and then I will," he demanded.

"You lied to me!" she screamed, pushing against his chest with her free hand.

"I did _not_ lie to you, Elena," he spun her quickly so that her back was against his chest, he held her clenched fist across her chest and her free arm against the side of her body, immobilizing her arms from any further attacks. She thrashed violently against his grasp trying to get free. "Stop fighting me, damnit. I didn't lie to you."

"Let me go, Damon," she tried to bend her knees and duck out of his hold but he was good at this, too good. She'd had a late writing workshop her freshman year and ended up having to walk home in the dark sometimes. He practically begged her to take a self-defense class so she did. Unfortunately for her, he took the class with her and could counter every move she knew. He wouldn't be able to account for the element of surprise though, so she let her body go slack for a few seconds and as soon as she could feel his hold loosen she twisted and ducked out of his grasp. She spun to face him, not ready to give up yet. She felt strangely exhilarated by engaging him this way, she felt powerful and sexy. They'd fought before: yelled at each other, slammed doors, and exchanged less-than-affectionate names, but besides playful wrestling they'd never let their arguments get physical. He was taller, heavier, and stronger than her but she was faster and more adroit on her feet.

He could see something foreign and new burning in her eyes as she stared him down. Every one of his rational senses told him to give her space and let her work out whatever was going on in her head, that she'd sleep on it and everything would be ok in the morning but there was something in her belligerent stance that turned him on and had him hard. Her predatory focus made his skin tingle with arousal and he tried to discretely dry his sweaty palms against his pants. He would never lay a hand on her in anger, but he didn't need to. He knew exactly how to get her riled up.

"I could save you the work of fighting and just let you hate-fuck me right now to get it out of your system," he said with a cool and cocky tone. "I'll even let you use the handcuffs so you can really punish me." She dove at him with enough force to knock him off of his feet and sent them both tumbling to the floor. While she had caught him off guard with her lunge, he regained the upper hand and quickly had her immobilized again with her hands pinned to the floor above her head. The image of the last time he had her like this flooded back into his mind, it was the first night he'd made love to her. If she could feel his arousal, she didn't show it.

"That was rude," she chided in a tone so icy it belied the fact that she had just been trying to attack him.

"So is coming to fisticuffs with me over a simple misunderstanding," he shot back sarcastically, resisting the urge to grind his hips against hers and make her beg to be taken right there on the floor.

"You lied to me," she resorted back to the original insult. She wriggled with all of her strength to get away but he just tightened his knees against her thighs and leaned more of his weight onto her, effectively stilling her movement. "You aren't supposed to keep secrets Damon, and you did. You lied." Her chest was heaving with her anger and exertion, but her breath caught in her throat when he tightened his legs against her and she could feel the warmth building in her core.

"I didn't lie to you. It was nothing, so there was nothing to come home and tell you. I wrote the will out of respect for my dad and my brother. That's all."

"You could have told me why you went to Baltimore," she said barely louder than a whisper.

"I could have," he agreed, nuzzling her neck lightly, "and you could have spent the rest of summer worrying about it instead of enjoying yourself and relaxing. I slept ten feet away from you, don't think I didn't hear all of the nights you called your mom crying about how stressful your classes were."

"You were more important to me than lounging around the lake house for two months."

"You were more important to me than anything, Elena. That's why I didn't tell you." His admission short-circuited her wrath. The fire in her eyes was extinguished and replaced with a tender warmth. "You would have agonized over it. I didn't want that for you."

"I would have," she murmured, her gaze flicking to his lips before meeting his eyes again. Despite her accusation of lying he was looking at her with such bare honesty and vulnerability that she had no choice but to believe him. He had always been her protector, and as much as she disliked the fact that he kept his secret from her she understood why he did it.

"I didn't lie to you," he repeated again softly just in case she still doubted him.

"I believe you," she whispered as he leaned in to kiss her. She pulled her hands free and laced her fingers through his hair. They were getting swept up in the current of their passion, but Elena pulled away suddenly. "Damon, you're bleeding!"

He ran his fingers across his upper lip and looked at his crimson-coated fingers. "Just a nosebleed," he shrugged, "probably 'cause my wife just tried to beat me up."

"Get up, I'll go get some tissues." He reluctantly rolled off of her and grabbed her hands to help her up off of the floor. "Sit down," she directed him to one of the reading chairs by the bookshelf, "I'll be right back." She jogged out of the room to retrieve some supplies from the bathroom. He pinched at the bridge of his nose and leaned his head back like his mother used to instruct him to do but when he did so he felt a warm, sticky surge run over his lips and down his chin onto his shirt. Blood seemed to be pouring out now and he did his best to stop the flow. The blood started to pool in his palms and he was running out of ways to stop himself from bleeding on the furniture.

"Elena?" he called out.

"Here," she rushed back in with an ice pack and box of tissues. She froze midstride when she saw how much he was bleeding and her face went pale. _So much blood_.

"Just put them on the desk," he offered, knowing that she didn't handle blood well. "I can take care of it baby."

"No, I'm ok," she said shakily and knelt in front of him, handing him the ice pack and pulling several tissues from the box to wipe the blood from his hands. The first few tissues disintegrated under the sheer volume of blood in his palms, but she wiped frantically at the gore.

"Easy Lady MacBeth," Damon said, wishing he could hold her and tell her it would be ok if not for the mess on his hands. He pulled the wad of tissues away from his face to see if the spate of blood had slowed at all, but it was still draining out at an alarming rate. He tried to swallow but ended up choking on the blood dripping down his throat. "Elena—"

"Oh my god," she exclaimed, clawing at the tissues and trying to clean the blood from his face.

"Go get Stefan," he said calmly, "he should be in his room, go wake him up." Elena jumped to her feet and ran from the study. She flew up the stairs two at a time and threw her weight against Stefan's bedroom door, banging on the wood relentlessly.

"Stefan!" she shouted, "Stefan! Wake up!" She was breathing too hard to hear him stumbling to the door, but he swung open and stared at her with a confused look on his face.

"What's going on?" he asked, trying to get his bearings.

"Damon's bleeding everywhere and it won't stop," she explained as clearly as she could. He was already following her downstairs.

"Ugh, she wasn't kidding," Stefan grimaced as he hurried into the study where his brother was sitting, surrounded by reddened tissues. Growing up he'd had his fair share of nose bleeds, and he and his brother had even gifted the little inconvenience to each other from time to time, but he'd never seen one with so much blood. "That's a lot of blood."

"No shit," Damon replied, "it's not stopping."

"Why don't you go lay down?" Stefan suggested.

"On my 1600 thread count sheets? I don't think so," he shook his head.

"You are such a snob, Damon," his brother chided.

"You have to take me to the hospital to get this cauterized or whatever." He tried to stand but felt shaky on his feet and sat back down to keep himself from falling. Stefan helped steady him and they headed for the door. The younger Salvatore reached for Damon's keys on the key rack but his brother stopped him. "We're not taking Carmen."

"I don't want you bleeding all over _my_ seats," Stefan retorted. "I just had the interior detailed."

"Elena!" they both called out at the same time. She poked her head out from the bathroom where she was scrubbing her hands raw to get the oily feel of Damon's blood off of her skin.

"Can we borrow your car baby?" Damon tilted his head to Stefan, "he's going to run me to the hospital for a sec to get this taken care of." He wanted to make it sound as nonchalant as possible so as not to alarm her.

"Keys are on the table by the door. Do you want me to come?" she asked, but he could tell she was hoping he would say no.

"Nah, it'll only take a few minutes. We'll be back soon. Go back to bed and I'll join you when I get home." Knowing how Elena slept, if she went back to bed they'd have anywhere between nine and forty-seven hours to deal with this the nosebleed.

"Ok," she sounded relieved about not having to go to the hospital, "I'll have my phone on loud if you need to call."

The brothers made their way out to Elena's car and Stefan helped Damon into the passenger seat. He realized he probably looked a fright with the blood that had streamed down the front of his shirt and that which had begun to dry on his face. He pulled down the mirror from the sun visor, he looked just like the vampires in the movies Elena had forced him to sit through. He just grimaced and slapped the visor back into place.

"Living with you two is never boring, I'll give you that much," Stefan yawned as they pulled out of the drive way.

"Someone has to keep you on your toes, Stef." Damon eyesight blurred slightly as the trees along the dark road passed quickly. His brother had always been the more cautious driver of the two, so he doubted that his dizziness had anything to do with Stefan driving fast.

"You alright?" Stefan asked, looking over at Damon hanging his head in the passenger seat.

"This is such a chick thing," Damon groaned, "but I think I'm going to pass out."

"Well…" Stefan was trying to think of what to advise his brother to do, "don't?"

"Very helpful," he grumbled, shifting in the seat and focusing on the radio display in the dash since it seemed to be the only thing that wasn't moving and multiplying before his eyes. The corners of his vision began to close in and the already dark interior of the car darkened even more and he could feel his senses slipping away into quiet blackness.

"Damon, hey!" Stefan elbowed him, "I'm not carrying your ass anywhere so stay awake."

Damon mumbled something and leaned his head back against the seat trying to fight the desire to close his eyes. He was thinking about Elena when he remembered all of the paperwork that was sitting on the desk. No doubt, she would try to clean up before they got home and knowing her, she wouldn't be able to resist peeking at his papers. He'd kept them safely tucked away for so long for a reason.

"Damnit," he muttered, hoping they'd be back home before she could dig around too much.

Elena cleaned the last bit of blood from under her nails and took a reassuring look in the mirror. She had promised herself that she would become his champion, and if that meant dealing with a little bit of blood then so be it. She marched to the study to clean up the mess and began tossing the tissues into the wastebasket, not stopping to think too much about it. She noticed a few drops on blood on the leather chair and got a damp cloth from the kitchen to clean it with. It might have seemed like a small task, but she was pretty pleased with herself when she returned the room to its blood-free state and got everything back in order.

She admired her handiwork for a moment before her eyes fell back onto Damon's desk and the mountain of paperwork that had taken up residence there. A part of her knew she shouldn't mill around in Damon's personal affairs, but another part of her had to know what was keeping him up at night. She made herself comfortable in his chair and flipped open the document that had started their fight. Her eyes scanned over the document, which was only a few pages long. There were red marks in the margins indicating the edits Damon intended to make. At the time he wrote it, he hadn't really had much of his own to leave in a will but the first few paragraphs left most of his material possessions to Stefan. The last paragraph caught her attention and she could feel the tears sting her eyes.

_To my best friend, Elena Gilbert, I leave my beloved Camaro, my personal library, and enough shares of Salvatore Investment, LLC to ensure she finally gets that trip to Europe she's always wanted (Elena if you're reading this, I mean an actual vacation with nice hotels and real restaurants…. No hostels). Miss Gilbert should also receive the attached letter and the jewelry box my mother left me._

Elena flipped through the remaining documents on the desk until she found a simple white envelope with her name on it. The seal was still open, so she would be able to get the letter out without disrupting anything if she wanted to. She placed the envelope on the desk and stared at it for several minutes, wondering whether she should read what was inside or not. After careful deliberation, and a very detailed recollection of how Damon found and read her entire diary in ninth grade she decided to read the letter just once. As carefully as she could, she pulled the piece of paper from its case and unfolded it. The letter was hand written on plain paper.

_Dear Elena,_

_If you're reading this it's either because you are spying on me and rummaging through my things or I'm dead. Either way, hopefully by the time you do read this I will have finally told you what I am writing here._

_You are the best friend anyone could ever ask for, and I don't know what I ever did to deserve to have you in my life but I'm glad. I hope that by the time you read this you will already know that you are everything to me and that you are the most amazing woman I've ever met. I hope you will already know that being with you is my reason for getting out of bed in the morning. I hope you will already know that I'd do anything to see your beautiful smile and hear you laugh. I hope we will already be something more to each other than friends. Most of all, I hope you will already know how much I love you._

_If not, you should know that I do… or did, whatever._

_Be nice to Carmen._

_ Yours always,_

_ Damon_

_P.S. If you're just spying, shame on you, Gilbert. Now it's going to be awkward next time we hang out. _

She brushed the tears away from her cheeks and quickly refolded the letter and put it back in its envelope. After re-arranging everything on his desk the way it was before she went back upstairs and climbed into their bed, pulling the blankets snugly around her. She tried to close her eyes and sleep but she couldn't stop thinking about Damon and the letter he'd written her 5 years ago. Throwing the covers off, she rushed to the closet and rummaged through her unpacked boxes that they had brought over from her house until she found the shoebox where she kept all of the notes and postcards Damon had left for her over the years. The lilac envelope she was looking for stood out against the more subdued palate of Damon's stationery and she plucked the letter from the pile. It was still sealed, highlighting the fact that she didn't have the courage to give it to the intended receiver 5 years ago when she wrote it. She packed her shoebox back up and put it back in the closet before making her way downstairs to wait for Damon and Stefan to return.

Elena was dozing lightly on the sofa in the parlor. She couldn't stop thinking about the letters.

_Flashback_

"Damon!" Elena squealed happily and leapt into his arms just as he walked through the door. "You're home!" He hugged her tightly and kissed her cheek before setting her back on the floor. "How was Baltimore?"

"A million hours in the car with Stefan? It was awesome," he rolled his eyes.

"Your brother isn't as bad as you make him out to be," Elena scolded him.

"Say that after you've had to defend your radio rights from him and his penchant for shitty pop music all week," he groaned. "I brought you something."

"Ooo, yay!" she rubbed her hands giddily. He handed her a little pink box that was sitting on top of his duffel bag. "What is it?"

"Open it, and find out," he smiled, knowing already that she would love it.

"Oh my gosh," she gasped when she opened the box and saw a small round cake inside. It was light green with a purple curly 'E' on top. "It's so pretty!"

"Stefan insisted on going to the cake place on TV," Damon said casually.

"Charm City Cakes? No way! I love A_ce of Cakes_!" Elena smiled.

"I know. That's all you watched when you were home sick and delirious with the flu." She was already rummaging through the drawers in the kitchen. She pulled out two forks and patted the barstool next to her, waving a fork at him. "It's—"

"No, no! I want to guess!" she shushed him, taking a massive forkful of cake and savoring it. "Hmm, dulce de leche?"

"Jeez woman," he shook his head, taking his own bite. "Your dessert consumption skills are uncanny."

"Hey," she playfully bumped his shoulder, "I have a healthy appreciation for sweets. So tell me about your trip? What did you guys do? Any epic brother bonding? Comical road trip misadventures?"

"The trip was fine. So much bonding, Stef is my new BFF. We had a spa day and got our nails done, then we found some fabulous shoes."

"Your cuticles do look great," she remarked. She knew he was being sarcastic and she had learned long ago to just play along with him. "And I thought I was your BFF, punk!"

"The one and only," he watched her carefully, realizing how much he had missed her over the past week. Not that there was anything wrong with Stefan, as much as he ran him down, but he would have much rather road tripped with Elena instead. "What have you been up to?"

"Nothing much, I survived two Caroline shopping trips and actually found a really cute dress and some matching shoes."

"Dress and shoes?" he asked raising his eyebrows. Elena had always been a jeans and t-shirt type of girl. "What was the occasion? Hot date?"

"Kol was going to be in town, but his plans fell through and he couldn't come," Elena shrugged, looking a little disappointed.

"That's too bad, he's such _riveting_ company," he rolled his eyes.

"Damon, stop that," she admonished lightly, but her smile took any of the force out of her words. She immediately dropped her eyes again, and tucked her hair behind her ears, something she always did when she was apprehensive or nervous.

"Ok," he pushed their now empty cake box out of the way and folded his hands on the counter. "Spill."

"It's nothing," she shook her head and shrugged. "Just girl stuff."

"My favorite," Damon grinned. "Get it out there, Lena. If not I'll be forced to call Caroline and she'll come over here and drag you out to some skeezy college bar so drunk frat douche bags drool over you all night in their tiny polo shirts and spray tans, then I'll have to kill them and end up in jail for murder for the rest of my life. And I'm too pretty to go to prison. I'd be someone's bitch—"

"Fine," she paused for a moment, "Kol has a girlfriend. They just started seeing each other and it seems pretty serious."

"Crocodile Dundee found a little Sheila, how cute," Damon was very pleased to hear that he would no longer be seeing Elena, a small part of him hoped it had something to do with the black eye he gave Kol last time he saw him. In all of the years they had known each other Kol was the only one who ever felt in competition with for Elena's affections. Elena just rolled her eyes at Damon's dismissiveness and opened her mouth to say something, but he cut her off. "Hey, forget him Lena. I mean it, you're way out of his league anyways. His accent is annoying as shit and he dresses like he's been locked away in a tomb for the last 40 years. "

"Maybe you're right," she sighed, resting her chin on her hand and drawing designs in the condensation from her soda can on the counter. Little did he know, she wasn't really bothered by the Kol situation at all. What was really bothering her was a little lilac envelope sitting in the top drawer of her dresser. She had written the letter on the fourth day of his trip when she realized that she wasn't lying on the couch missing her best friend, she was miserable because she hadn't even so much as had a phone conversation with the man she was in love with in four days.

"Of course I'm right," Damon smiled, taking a drink from Elena's soda. "I know a much more handsome and charming guy to take you out."

"Who? If you say Mason I will smother you in your sleep."

"Hell no, I wouldn't let Lockwood anywhere near you, Lena. The guy's a surfer," he grimaced. "He is neither handsome nor charming."

"Who then?" Elena prodded.

"Me," he said simply with a lop-sided smile. She just giggled and blushed. "I haven't gotten a nice dinner in with my girl all week, I'm thinking Italian. We haven't tried that new place downtown yet."

"I have been craving chicken parm all week," Elena said pursing her lips and considering his offer.

"We can bash Mikaelson all night, it'll be fun. Wouldn't want to let your new dress just sit in the closet."

"That would be sad," she agreed, "I'll go get changed." She skipped to her room, excited to get some quality time with Damon, but as soon as she closed her door she remembered the letter again. She slowly opened her drawer and pulled the envelope out, flipping it between her fingers a few times before sliding it into her purse. She wanted to have it just in case the right moment came up. It didn't take her long to change into her new white sundress and sandals; she put her hair up in a simple ponytail and put on an extra coat of mascara before heading back out to the living room.

They decided to walk downtown since it was just a few blocks and it was a balmy spring night. Elena was regaling Damon with a tale of how her and Caroline tried to change a flat tire on Caroline's car while he was gone.

"Damon!" she exclaimed. He was shamelessly checking out every girl that walked by them while they were waiting outside of the restaurant for a table. As much as she was trying to ignore it, she was beginning to feel slightly jealous.

"Tires, yeah, I'm listening," he looked slightly sheepish.

"You're not as suave as you think you are," she chuckled while shaking her head.

"Oh no?" he moved closer to her and deftly stepped to come to stand behind her, running his hands up her arms, barely touching her skin. When he reached her shoulders he dipped his index fingers to trace her collarbones, making her breath catch in her throat. One of his hands traced along her down to the back of her dress. He leaned closer, pressing his chest against her back so his lips were right at her ear. "Your tag was showing." He smiled his typical cocksure smirk and put an appropriate amount of space between them.

"Ass," she grinned, shaking her head once she caught her breath.

The rest of the evening Damon seemed tight-lipped about his trip, but he had never really been an open book so Elena didn't think much of it. She still couldn't figure out why he and Stefan chose Baltimore of all places to spend a week but Damon just brushed it off as Stefan wanting to check off more Civil War points of interest in his "nerd atlas," as he called it. She had missed him more this time than any other time he'd gone away. Of course, she still had Caroline and she enjoyed girlfriend time just as much as the next girl but there was something about being around Damon that was different. It was at once comfortable and exhilarating. She wanted to give him the letter and get it off of her chest, but she didn't feel like the timing was right.

Later that night she quietly snuck into his room while he was asleep and propped the letter on his nightstand against his alarm clock so he would see it when he woke up. She tip-toed back to her room and wrapped herself tightly in her favorite blanket. She had lain painfully still for almost an hour listening for any signs of movement from Damon's room before she swung her legs over the side of her bed and trudged back down the hall to his room. When she entered his room he was still sleeping in the same position he had been when she left the letter. She picked the envelope up off of the nightstand and headed back to her room. When she reached the doorway, she turned and rapped the envelope against her palm contemplating whether she should have left it or not. _Nope, bad timing_, she decided and turned on her heels once again until his groggy voice caught her attention.

"Lena?" he sat up and rubbed his eyes, squinting at her silhouetted against the hallway light. The blanket fell down around his waist revealing his bare chest, which coupled with his messy bed head had Elena thinking uncharacteristically racy thoughts.

"Sorry, I was just… uh, I didn't mean to wake you," she stuttered.

"There's plenty of room if you want to stay," he tilted his head to the empty space next to him in the bed. She blushed and looked at the letter in her hand.

"Just a sec," she darted to her room and hid the letter back in her dresser before returning to his room and jumping into the empty spot in his bed. He pulled her tightly against his chest and she hoped that he couldn't feel her racing heart beat. _Maybe tomorrow_, she thought contentedly as she drifted off to sleep.

_Present_

When she heard the click of the front door handle followed by the Salvatore brothers' incessant bickering she opened her eyes and tuned her ears to their conversation.

"I'm just saying, you didn't have to yell at the nurse, she was just doing her job, Damon," Stefan said in an exasperated tone.

"She asked 'are you numb yet?' I very clearly said 'no, I am not' and she still burned the shit out of my nose with that stick thing and it fucking hurt," Damon defended himself.

"What was she supposed to do? Sit there and read you a story while you bled out in the waiting room?"

"A little bit of warning would have been nice."

"Get over it, little kids get their noses cauterized all the time and don't whine half as much as you."

"Says the guy who cried at the end of _Marley & Me_," Damon scoffed.

"I'm going back to bed," Stefan grumbled, knowing that their conversation was going nowhere fast.

Elena sat up on the sofa to see Damon shaking the last bits of snow out of his dark hair in the foyer. He caught her out of the corner of his eye and made his way into the room.

"I thought you'd be asleep," he sat next to her and kissed her temple.

"I was going to, but I figured you wouldn't be gone that long. How is your nose?"

"All good," he smiled. It still hurt, but he didn't want to complain to her about it. He really wanted to ask about whether she had gone through his papers while he was gone but before he could say anything she handed him a light purple envelope with his name on the front. "I take it you read the papers on my desk?"

"Just open it," Elena answered, knowing that he already knew she had done exactly that. He carefully separated the seal on the envelope and unfolded the letter inside. It was short, but unmistakably written in her loopy, feminine handwriting

_Damon,_

_ I know this seems like it's coming out of nowhere and I am sorry for springing something like this on you. You are the one person in my life I've never had to pretend for, which is why it's so difficult to pretend that I'm not completely and hopelessly in love with you. I love you, Damon. _

_ ~Elena _

Damon finished the letter and carefully folded it back up, this was a keeper. He was smiling to himself, but the grin fell from his lips as soon as he looked up and saw tears coursing over Elena's cheeks.

"Hey," he cooed, placing the envelope on the coffee table and cradling her face in his hands, "what's wrong?"

"I wrote that for you five years ago," she gestured to the letter. "Five years and I never gave it to you."

"Ok," he answered, wrinkling his brows. He was unsure of where she was going with this.

"You wrote yours around the same time. Don't you see? All of the time we wasted, Damon." She choked back a small sob, trying to keep herself together. "And now…" she didn't finish her sentence, he knew exactly what she meant though.

"You're scared that it's going to be over," he stated. Now was definitely not the time to mince words and avoid the truth. She nodded her head and wiped at her tears. He pulled her to him and tucked her snugly under his chin. She reveled in the warmth and security of being in his arms. "I'm going to be fine, sweetheart. I will never leave you."

"What did the doctor say?" she asked after several minutes.

"Nothing much, just a nosebleed," he shrugged. Dr. Fell had actually given him quite a lecture about his blood pressure being too high and him being under too much stress before his surgery, but he didn't want to burden Elena with his worries. He didn't see a point to them both having high blood pressure. "Sorry for scaring you."

"I guess I forgive you," she said, jestingly hesitant.

"You guess?" he tickled her side lightly, getting her to giggle.

"Ok, fine, I forgive you." She tilted her head back to look him in the eyes. As much as she wanted to get lost in his deep blue eyes her eyelids began to feel heavy and fluttered closed slightly. "I'm kind of tired, Damon."

"There's a shock," he laughed. He scooped her up easily and carried her to their room. As gently as he could he laid her on the bed. He wasn't very tired but he wanted to hold her so he got into bed next to her and pulled her tightly against him. She sighed contentedly and snuggled deeper in his embrace. _Everything is going to be fine_, he repeated to himself, _it has to be._

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**A/N: Thanks for reading awesome followers :) Reviews make me write even fast (shameless hint, hint). I hope to have a new chapter up posthaste.**


	11. Chapter 11: Joyeux Noel

_Hello fantastic readers! I hope everyone is enjoying 2013 so far. Here's a new chapter... it's kind of a filler until the next chapter but I want to maintain a good balance between the sweet, fluffy stuff and the heavy, serious stuff (of which there will be some in the next chapter). SO many reviews for the last chapter= AWESOMEness! All of your reviews, follows, and favorites make me so warm and fuzzy. Love you all!_

_myosh- Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed the letters :)_

_Barbara SGB- Thank you for the review! I hope you enjoy the next chapter :)_

_vikkidillard- Thanks so much :D I hope you like the update!_

_Salvatores1864- Nothing too depressing ;)_

_KellyJo93- Thanks a zillion! I hope you enjoy chapter 11!_

_noobishere- More bonding, just for you- Christmas bonding ;) Hope you enjoy it! Much love :D_

_yourmasterpiece44- I'm glad you enjoy it, thanks! Nooo, don't die (I'm partial to happy endings ;)_

_CharlSmith- Duly noted, haha :) Thank you for your review! I hope chapter 11 doesn't disappoint_

_Kate- New, fresh update!_

_Guest- Thank you for R & R!_

_VampireGleek77- Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoy the update :)_

_arwen01- Thanks for reading! I really enjoyed writing the date night chapter :)_

_kaybaby1127- Thank you for the review :) Elena definitely wants to know, I'm thinking he'll tell her in the next chapter_

_DEandMEthreeway- Less angst here, don't die!_

_monica218- I love them too much for that ;)_

_Kay5892- Chapter 11 hot off the press :) A tiny flashback here, too!_

_jules- Thank you so much for reading and reviewing :D I am glad you like the story so far. You have an awesome bestie! Damon will come clean next chapter. I hope you enjoy the update!_

_Disclaimer: I do not own _The Vampire Diaries_, the characters, or their likenesses. No copyright infringement intended._

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"Remember when you said we could start a fire and watch _White Christmas_?" Elena asked as she poured two cups of coffee while Damon made eggs and crepes. She took a sip from her mug as she shamelessly ogled her husband. He rarely went for the casual look, but she had to admit that he looked good in his dark blue sleeping pants and grey zip-up hooded sweatshirt.

"Uh… nope," he shook his head. "Doesn't ring a bell."

"Huh," she shrugged, "I must have dreamt it then because I know you never would have used my love for Christmas against me to win an argument. That would just be down right Grinch-ly."

"Grinch-ly?" Damon asked while putting the finishing touches on the crepes and sliding a plate in front of Elena.

"Like the Grinch," she answered simply. He just shrugged his shoulders and raised a questioning eyebrow. "_How the Grinch Stole Christmas!_ by Dr. Seuss? Children's book and all-around best Christmas movie ever?"

"Haven't seen it," he commented, salting his eggs.

"How have not seen _How the Grinch Stole Christmas_? It's a Christmas classic. It plays on TV every year," she exclaimed. "You must have seen it some time?"

"You know I don't like Christmas, Lena. Never have. The holidays are just a giant pain in the ass and it's too much pressure with the shopping and the family and the preparations. I'm going to be laid up for Christmas this year anyways, so who cares?"

"_I_ care, Damon," Elena frowned. She knew that he had never been a fan of the holidays and she tried several times to bring out some Christmas spirit in him, but after a few years of utter failure she learned to keep her distance during the last week of the year. Unfortunately for him, they were living together now and he wasn't going to be able to avoid her that easily. "It's the first Christmas without—never mind."

"I know you're all about Christmas but I just can't get into it this year."

"This year? Because you've been a regular Yule booster every other year?"

"I loved Christmas when I was a kid."

"No, you didn't. When you were seven you waited all year until Christmas Eve to tell Stefan that Santa wasn't real so you could ruin his Christmas morning. You are the Grinch incarnate, Damon" she was glaring at him over her orange juice glass remembering the look on poor Stefan's face when Giuseppe carried him through the door of the Gilbert house on Christmas Eve for the annual Founder's Christmas Party. He had his head buried against his father's shoulder trying to hide his reddened, tear-stained face. Damon, of course, was looking as smug as ever and very pleased with himself despite his mothers' scolding.

"I'm embarrassed that I even had to tell him, it should be obvious. The entire premise of Santa is irrational," he defended himself.

"Well this year is going to be different," she announced brightly, "I am going to make you love Christmas. Laid up or not, we are going to have a great Christmas."

"Goody," he answered with mock enthusiasm, "I can't drink so there goes my usual routine of blitzed until New Years. I'll probably be on bed rest which strikes out all ice skating and sledding outings, which are the only things I actually enjoy about winter. Then there will be all the pity lasagnas and casseroles from the Council reminding me that I'm such an invalid I can't even cook for my wife. To top it all off I'll have an awful buzz cut from some 16-year-old candy striper. Can't wait babe. Christmas sounds _epic_ this year." His usual comic lilt was replaced with bitter vitriol and Elena knew that her mission was going to be more difficult than she originally thought. When Damon said he hated Christmas, he meant he _hated_ Christmas.

"Can we at least try to make the best of it?" she asked softly, taking his free hand in hers and stroking her thumb over his wedding band. He sighed before closing his hand around hers.

"What did you have in mind?" if this is what it took to make her smile he'd do it, albeit begrudgingly. He figured at least she'd look cute in snow boots and a pom-pom beanie. She climbed into his lap and straddled his hips, draping her arms over his shoulders and he forgot all about how awful the holidays were.

"I was thinking maybe going to the tree lot by the high school," she said innocently, playing with the drawstrings on his sweatshirt. "Hot cocoa at the coffee shop."

"Yeah," he was too focused on the little loops she was making around her fingers to protest. Remembering all the other things those fingers were capable of had his throat going dry and his heart fluttering, yeah… fluttering. "What else?"

"A fire in the fire place. A big fuzzy blanket around us on the couch," she inched her lips closer to his, "snuggling."

"What else?" he hummed. He would never admit it to anyone at the risk of having his man card revoked, but the thought of snuggling with Elena under a fuzzy blanket sounded pretty good.

"Some movies," she looked up at him through her thick eyelashes and the expression on his face said everything she needed to know: he was putty in her hands. "We could have a camp out like we used to."

_Flashback_

"Damon, we need more pillows!" Elena shouted down the hall as she spread a few layers of blankets out on the floor and unrolled her butterfly sleeping bag. She shuffled around the parlor collecting the "camping" supplies in her new flannel Christmas pajamas.

"These are the only ones I could find," he said returning to the parlor with his arms full of throw pillows from all of the guest bedrooms. "Did you save some blankets for the fort?"

"Yeah, do you think this one is big enough?" she spread out a king size sheet that billowed over her head, draping her like a diminutive ghost. She thrashed her hands around trying to pull the sheet off of her head, but she tripped over the edge and landed in a heap on the floor. In an instant Damon was pulling at the sheet to free her. He couldn't hold in his laugh when he saw a bunch of Elena's hairs standing on end from static electricity. She scowled at him for laughing at her and crossed her arms, trying to stare him down.

"It's big enough," he smiled the lop-sided smile that would become his trademark and ran his hand over Elena's hair to flatten out the unruly strands. "Want to stretch it out for the roof?" The little girl nodded wildly and jumped up, taking two corners of the sheet to stretch over the chairs they had arranged at the corners of their sleeping area. "Now we just need the pillows. We can't get these dirty or my mom will kill us."

"There will be no killing of anyone _tesorino_," Elsbeth said warmly to her son as she entered the room, patting his head affectionately. "Are you sure you'll be warm enough down here _cara mia_?"

"Yeah," Elena nodded her little head. "I brought my sleeping bag."

"If you get cold you just have Damon put another log in the fire, ok?"

"I will," she said with a small knowing chuckle, now she had the lady of the house's permission to boss Damon around.

"Very good, now give me a hug," Elsbeth hugged the girl tightly, "goodnight Lena. _Buon natale_."

"Goodnight _zia_," Elena hugged her back. Elsbeth loved the little girl like a daughter. She and Miranda had raised their four children together. They thought Stefan and Elena would become close, but her oldest son had been smitten with Miranda's little girl from the moment Miranda and Grayson brought her home from the hospital.

"_Vieni qui figlio mio_," the older woman gestured to Damon, "did you brush your teeth?"

"_Si_ _mamma_," Damon rolled his eyes.

"You be a good boy and get Elena anything she needs, _va bene_?"

"_Si mamma_," he muttered again.

"_Buon natale_, _lo ti amo mio piccolo principe_" she said lovingly as she kissed her son goodnight.

"_Ti amo, mamma_," Damon said with a smile wrapping his little arms around his mother's neck. "_Buon natale_." Elsbeth left the two children in the parlor with their blanket fort but watched them for several minutes from the hall as they laughed about one of the cartoons they watched earlier that evening. She was so distracted that she didn't hear her husband come to stand next to her. Giuseppe wasn't sure what was more beautiful: the sparkle in his wife's eyes or seeing his oldest son having the kind of fun that didn't involve breaking antique furniture and tormenting his brother.

"Poor sweet little Elena," he shook his head with a knowing smile.

"What do you mean by that?" Elsbeth questioned.

"She is going to have her hands full with Damon," he said with a raised eyebrow. "Elsie, my dear, you know that boy will test her patience until they're both old and grey."

"Oh Peppe!" she scolded her husband, "he gets it from you. I seem to remember you being quite the wild one when we were younger."

"And I was brilliantly lucky to find a smart and beautiful woman to run wild with me," he smiled at his wife, who seemed to grow more radiant by the day.

"Like father, like son," Elsbeth remarked as she watched Elena direct Damon on how to arrange the throw pillows in their fort. Her son obeyed with only the slightest bit of grumbling.

"There are still a few gifts to wrap_ amore_," and with that they retreated to the master suite to finish the final Christmas preparations.

"Where's your sleeping bag, Damon?" Elena asked, her concern evident.

"Stefan took it to your house for his sleepover with Jeremy 'cause he couldn't find his," Damon shrugged. Elena slipped out of her sleeping bag and unzipped the edge to stretch it out like a blanket before wiggling back underneath.

"We can share mine. My dad said that you can catch really bad colds if you get cold at night and then you have to drink this cough medicine that says it tastes like grapes but it tastes like warm garbage."

"But what if you get cold now?" Damon asked, lying on his side to face Elena. She mirrored his shift and was facing him.

"Then _you_ have to put more logs on the fire 'cause your mom said I could boss you around," she grinned, happy to have the upper hand on him.

"You boss me around all the time anyways, Lena," he smiled.

"No I don't, you just like me too much to say no," she said with a smugness she learned from the blue-eyed boy.

"You're ok…" he said with matching self-satisfaction, rolling onto his back, "for a girl. But you'll wake me up if you get cold?"

"Yeah," she paused for a moment, staring at the boy next to her. "I forgot Peter," she sounded sad. Peter was the old worn stuffed rabbit she slept with every night and in her excitement to pack for the night he had forgotten him on her bed.

"I'll be right back," Damon scurried out of the fort and returned a few minutes later with a stuffed bear, "you can borrow Paddington if you want. He's softer if you take his wellies off," he informed her as he popped the little rain boots off of the bear's feet.

"Thank you," she snuggled the bear close to her chest.

"Don't tell Jeremy I have a bear, ok?" he told her in a serious tone and she nodded in agreement. The older Gilbert was always looking to the get the upper hand on him and if Jeremy knew that he slept with a teddy bear he'd get teased mercilessly about it.

"Hey Damon?" she asked with a furrow forming across her small brow while she watched him get comfortable back under the sleeping bag.

"Hey Elena," he mimicked her worried tone to try to ruffle her.

"Do we have to get married when we grow up?"

"I don't know, why?"

"I heard my mom talking about people getting married and sleeping together and we sleep together all the time," she mumbled, a little bashful about their conversation.

"Nah, I think you have to kiss and stuff to before you have to get married."

"We kissed that one time."

"Oh yeah," Damon wrinkled his eyebrows and turned back to Elena, "maybe we do have to get married, then. Maybe not until we're really old though, like twenty or something."

"Can I keep my My Little Pony sheets?"

"I just got new Spider-Man ones though," he groaned, but when he saw her frown he had to say something to get her to smile, "maybe we can just get two beds."

"And a dog?" Elena added hopefully.

"We can get a dog," he agreed, "I wanted a dog for a long time but Stef's allergic." They both fell silent and Elena's eyes began to settle shut as she drifted off to sleep. Damon reached out and held her small hand in his.

"Are you asleep?" he whispered

"A little bit," she murmured.

"I wouldn't mind it too much if we had to get married when we grow up." He didn't hear an answer from her and drifted off to sleep himself.

_Present_

"Aren't we a little too old for that, baby?" he chuckled, remembering his perfectly comfortable king sized pillow top upstairs.

"I can think of some ways to make it a little more age appropriate," she made sure that he wouldn't miss the seductive note in her voice. She brushed her lips against his, "so? Can you at least _pretend_ to like Christmas for a few hours?"

"I can pretend not to hate it," he mumbled despite the fact that his ego was taking a major bruising by giving in to her, but he figured that's what marriage is all about—compromise.

"Good enough for me," she kissed him happily and disappeared to their room to get dressed.

A few hours later they were back at the boarding house replete with ornaments, lights, garland, and, of course, the largest tree Elena could find on the lot.

"Right here," she pointed to an empty spot in the parlor next to the fireplace.

"Yes, your majesty," Damon grumbled, dragging the tree through the room to where Elena pointed. "You know what would make this so much better?" he said with faux enthusiasm.

"What?" she lit up, thinking he had a useful suggestion for their celebration.

"If you helped me carry this," he answered sarcastically.

"Nah," she shook her head, determined not to let his bad attitude spoil her day, "I'm actually enjoying watching you and your biceps do all of the work Salvatore." He'd never turn down a stroke to his ego.

"Well played Salvatore," he grunted dropping the tree into the stand and brushing the needles off of his shirt. "Have fun, lover," he said when he turned to leave the room for his study.

"You're not going to decorate with me?" she gaped.

"Is it really a two person job?"

"Forget it, Damon," she waved him away, "I'll do it myself." He shrugged and continued on his way. _Don't cry, Elena_, she told herself, _do not cry!_ She swiped her eyes with the sleeve of her sweater for good measure and opened the box of ornaments they had picked up from her old house. She carefully pulled a beautiful handmade bulb from the top of the box and examined it, remembering the craft fair her mother had bought it from. Every ornament in the box had a story and she was happy to get reacquainted with her fondest Christmas memories. She hung the bulb on a high branch and admired it for a moment before pulling out a glittery flamingo her parents brought back from their vacation to the Florida Keys, the bright pink bird had been one of her favorites growing up. As more and more ornaments dotted the tree she completely forgot about Damon's bad attitude. She remembered the Christmas before; Miranda, Grayson, Jeremy, and Elena had traveled nearly to Richmond to find the perfect tree for their living room. Jeremy had just gotten back from California for break and it was the first time in an entire year they had gotten to spend quality time together as an entire family. She laughed to herself when she remembered how Jeremy, being used to the temperate weather of the Golden State, neglected to bring a jacket and was nearly blue by the time they finished tying the tree to the car.

"Care to let me in on what's so funny?" Damon's velvety voice echoed through the room. She turned to see him leaning against the doorframe with his arms crossed over his chest. He had actually been watching her for a few minutes from his stealthy position, admiring the look of joy on her face as she hung the decorations. He wished he could get into the holidays like she could, but whenever he thought back to Salvatore family Christmases all he could remember were early morning conference calls and "family" dinners with his father's business associates. His parents tried to give him and Stefan everything they wanted, but the boys were routinely forgotten in the hustle and bustle of trying to impress investors and schmoozing clients.

"Not really," she snapped, re-focusing her attention back on the tree. She didn't hear him come to stand behind her so she was slightly startled when he wrapped his arms around her stomach and put his chin on her shoulder.

"It looks good," he commented.

"I'm surprised you noticed," she muttered but leaned into his embrace in spite of herself. He kissed her ear lightly and nuzzled her hair affectionately; he was looking for her forgiveness, that much was obvious.

"You are so beautiful," he whispered into her neck.

"Stop it," she mumbled with no indication in her tone that she meant it. Her head lolled to the side as he kissed her neck again. "Fine… I forgive you," she could feel him smile against her skin.

"What movie did you want to watch?"

"_White Christmas_," she replied, her breathing becoming heavier.

"Ok," he squeezed her tightly to his chest before withdrawing his arms, "go get into something comfortable and I'll put it on." She smirked because he had no idea what she had waiting in a shopping bag upstairs for him. He had been such a pill for the entire day that she was thinking about how glad she was that she kept the receipt, but she figured he'd earned it now.

While she was upstairs he busied himself in the kitchen making some cider. He rummaged through the cabinets until he found some cinnamon sticks to put in Elena's mug, he added a generous helping of bourbon to his own mug hoping it would make the ineluctable Techni-Color fiasco at least tolerable. When he returned back to the living room Elena was already curled up on the couch with the aforementioned fuzzy blanket smiling widely at him, with a hint of smugness over her victory. He set the mugs on the coffee table and peeled back the blanket to join her.

"Fuck me," he muttered and he stood motionless. When he said "something comfortable" he definitely wasn't envisioning the sexy dark green satin slip with a burgundy lace overlay and garter straps attached to nude-colored thigh high nylons she was wearing. She looked like a model straight from the pages of a Victoria's Secret catalogue and she was right in front of him. He fantasized about something very similar to this before, but he didn't imagine himself being frozen to the spot with his jaw hung open when it happened. All of the moves and swagger he'd spent years developing vanished and all he could do was stare.

"Are you going to join me?" she asked nonchalantly, not taking her eyes off of the TV screen, "I'm getting kind of cold."

"When did you get that?" he asked with the wonder evident in his voice.

"The other day," she shrugged, "if you're not going to sit down can I at least have the blanket back?"

"If you're cold I could warm you up," he smirked, shaking off his temporary dumbfounded moment.

"Maybe after the movie," she shrugged again, taking a careful sip from her steaming mug. She was punishing him for his sour attitude earlier that day. He promised her Christmas movies and snuggling, but she didn't care to listen to his complaining and snarky comments and she knew this would keep him quiet. When Caroline had taken her shopping for their first date, she saw the slip ensemble on the rack and bought it just in case. _Wise choice, _she thought.

"Really?" He questioned in disbelief, "you didn't put that on because you wanted to watch a movie."

"I don't know what you're talking about Damon," she replied innocently, looking at him for the first time since she came back down stairs. She had touched up her make-up and darkened the kohl liner around her eyes and added another layer of lip-gloss. He felt his knees buckle and the slightest quirk of her eyebrow indicated that she knew exactly what she was doing to him.

"Yes, you do baby," he growled. "You put that on because you wanted to drive me crazy."

"Now you know how it feels," she rolled her eyes, "you've been driving me crazy all day. Now, sit," she patted the sofa next to her, "let's watch the movie." He groaned in frustration and sat down next to her, trying to make himself as comfortable as he could despite the tightness in his jeans. She curled into his side and tucked her head into the curve of his shoulder. She hit the "play" button on the remote and hugged him tightly.

"You're not going to get away with that incredibly sexy lingerie stunt," he warned and kissed her head. She seemed happy so he tried his best to keep his hands to himself while the movie was on, but he couldn't resist running his fingers along the straps of her garters. About halfway through the movie he swiped the remote off of the coffee table and turned off the TV.

"Damon!" she exclaimed.

"I can't handle it anymore. I can't just sit here when you're looking that hot. You know how I am about patience." His hands were already busy fussing at the hook closure of her slip until she batted them away. "Please," he whined, "I want you so bad. I can grovel more if that will help."

"It might help," she smiled as he prowled over her.

"You are so much hotter than every teenage fantasy I ever had."

"You fantasized about me?" her eyes were wide with disbelief.

"All the time," he gently bit down on the skin over her collarbone. "My favorite one is when you come out to my shop to surprise me dressed like this."

"Then what?" she was already starting to feel dizzy under his touch and had a difficult time catching her breath.

"I make you mine, over and over again until I have to carry you to bed."

"Go," she demanded loudly, pushing his shoulders forcefully. She couldn't place the look that was etched across his features, but she thought it was partly between confusion and bewilderment. It was adorable and she couldn't help but smile, "I can't surprise you in shop if you're here," she purred. The hormonal adolescent side of him jumped off the couch with a mile-wide grin.

"Seriously?" he questioned, thinking it was too good to be true. She just nodded, amused with his enthusiasm, and he practically ran out to his shop. Watching him from the window as she put her coat on she giggled to herself; as soon as he had the door opened and the lights on she put on her best vixen face and sauntered across the yard to his shop.

He had already shed his coat and was waiting for her in his dark wash jeans and black t-shirt leaning against the workbench.

"What are you doing out here, baby?" he asked with a self-assured smirk.

"Nothing," she answered insouciantly. She shrugged her jacket off and hung it on a hook next to his. His eyes darkened nearly as black as his hair as he watched her in the light. She added a pair of black peep toe heels to her outfit, much to his appreciation. _Much better than fantasy_ he thought as she slunk towards him.

The expression on his face told her that she was doing something right as he watched her with a hungry gaze. His shoulders and arms were tensed, despite his attempt to appear casual. _Don't trip,_ she reminded herself and she was glad she hadn't returned Caroline's shoes to her just yet, wearing her black Chuck Taylor's would have made her outfit considerably less sexy. When she closed the distance between them he looked like he was about to pounce and as much as she wished she had a sassy one-liner to deliver, she couldn't think of anything to say.

"So…" she mumbled, rocking on her heels slightly showing her shyness. He grabbed her hips and pulled her against him roughly, capturing her lips in a bruising kiss.

"You are so sexy, Elena," he murmured as he picked her up and set her on the bench. She seemed uncomfortable and uncertain of herself and he wanted her to know how much he wanted her. "You have no idea what you do to me, how much you turn me on even when you don't mean to."

"Please," she gasped between elusive breaths. The light-headed reeling sensation was returning and she gave into it completely. His words and his reaction to her made her feel like she wasn't just playing a part, she was actually beginning to feel like a woman who could make Damon Salvatore weak in the knees and what a feeling _that_ was. An expert hand trailed up her side and stopped at the end of her nylons to tease her bare skin momentarily before continuing under the hem of her slip.

"No panties," he mused, "naughty."

"The ones it came with were really uncomfortable," she tried to justify herself, but it was also true, the matching thong was acutely unbearable and she really didn't see the point in wearing such unsubstantial underwear. His hands left her skin only to drop the zipper on the fly of his jeans. The sight of his manhood still made her blush and she briefly averted her gaze to the floor.

"Stop me if it's too much," he said as he brushed her hair from her face and kissed her sweetly. He tugged her knees around his waist and buried himself in her in one swift motion. As she arched her back he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer to him, driving himself even deeper within her.

"God, Damon," Elena moaned gripping his shirt in an attempt to retain a purchase on reality when he rocked his hips against hers. He was changing his rhythm and angle just frequently enough to prevent her from climaxing.

"I want you to cum so hard that you forget your own name," he growled before kissing her again, more gently this time. Her butterflies fluttered wildly at the contrast between his passion and tenderness as though they were deliciously confused. He was revealing to her yet another side of him; he'd been slow and sweet and fast and wild, but something in the tone of his voice was almost… formidable and she shivered when she thought of how truly capable he must be. Tonight would be about him pushing her to her limits, and perhaps even past them. Before she could meditate on it any further she began to feel the familiar tension of her climax in every muscle in her body. He must have known because he changed his rhythm pulling her away from the precipice yet again.

"Damon," she whimpered as the sensation became too much for her to process. "I can't…" she dropped her forehead to his shoulder as it felt like every nerve ending in her body ignited simultaneously and her mind short-circuited. Her spine arched and she let her head fall back which allow him to kiss the tops of her breasts that were displayed over the cups of her slip.

"Fuck, Elena. You feel so fucking amazing," he grunted. He had anticipated on bringing her to orgasm several times before allowing himself to relinquish control, but watching her lose herself so intensely brought him dangerously close to the edge. Her muscles fluttered around him and her legs tightened to a vise-like grip at his hips. He cupped her cheeks and forced her eyes to his own, "I want to see you when you cum." Her lips fell open in a silent scream and she stared at him with almost-black eyes as she tumbled into the abyss. The image of Elena completely consumed by passion would be burned into his brain for a very long time to come, and it was enough to get him to follow her in bliss.

"I can't feel my legs," she mumbled.

"I warned you," he laughed in return and gathered her into his arms. "I might have found a new appreciation for Christmas."

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**A/N: Like I mentioned- kind of a filler, but I wanted to get a little holiday cheer in before the surgery. The next chapter might take a little while to finish since I'll be gone for most of the weekend for my b-day, hopefully I'll have it up by mid next week. Also, I'm sorry if my Italian is poor, I haven't taken it in a few years if you have any corrections please feel free to PM me! I'm striving for authenticity :D Up next: Damon's surgery *stay tuned*  
**


	12. Chapter 12: Bloodstream

_Many apologies for taking so long to upload this, I'm working even harder on the next update for you all! Thank you for the birthday wishes, it takes the edge off getting another year older ;) Let me know what you think of this chapter, I was really struggling with where to take it, so I hope it's ok._

_vivianafrancesa- Thank you for the birthday wishes! I'm glad you liked the flashback, I was trying to get a little more depth into their relationship :)_

_VampireGleek77- Thank you! I'm glad you liked the chapter :D_

_Abgypig84- I had a great b-day indeed, thank you! I hope you like the update ;)_

_KellyJo93- I feel you! I am a Christmas addict. December 26th is the most depressing day of the year :( BUT, I'm glad I could help with some post-Christmas cheer ;)_

_Alice- Thank you, b-day weekend rocked! I'm glad you liked the chapter. My name is Anna, and I am a cuteaholic ;)_

_vikkidillard- Thank you millions ;)_

_jules- Hmm... what should Elena's fantasy be... any suggestions? ;)_

_kaybaby1127- Thank you for the review! He'll make it up to her later ;)_

_CharlSmith- Thank you! I hope this chapter isn't too scary, I was super nervous to write it. I tried to end it on a bright note :)_

_DEandMEthreeway- Thank you for reviewing! Your screen name cracks me up every time= brilliant :)_

_Guest (1)- Continued a little later than I hoped, but I hope you enjoy it :)_

_Guest (2)- Here's a new update, hope you like it :)_

_FineFreshFierce585- Sorry for taking so long! It's still mid-week though right, just mid-a different-week, haha :) I hope you like the update!_

_DISCLAIMER: I do not own _The Vampire Diaries_, the characters, or their likenesses. No copyright infringement intended._

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Damon knelt down by the dining room chair where Elena was sitting, asleep with her head on her folded arms. She'd quietly materialized in the kitchen only moments before wearing one of his old sweatshirts and it certainly didn't take her long to fall back asleep. He smiled at her and brushed a lock of hair from her face. He knew he had to wake her, but he wanted to enjoy her peaceful and unworried expression for just a little longer. If he forgot about everything else, he could imagine that she just fell asleep working on her manuscript at the table or looking over her articles and that they were just a normal newly wed couple enjoying being young and in love.

"Hey Elena," he whispered and ran his fingers down the side of her face and kissed her temple, "baby wake up, it's nearly time to go." She groaned and lifted her head from her elbows and wiped the sleep from her eyes. He chuckled at her sleepy expression and wild hair before taking a seat next to her. He pushed a mug of coffee in her direction, which her hand slowly crept out and took a hold of.

"Thanks," she mumbled and took a long, warming drink. She hadn't gotten much sleep during the night and it was definitely showing. Her eyes felt gritty under her swollen lids and her mind was foggy with exhaustion and worry. Damon, on the other hand, looked just as dashing as ever. For some reason, beyond her comprehension, he had slept like a baby through the entire night. He'd always had a gift for being able to take little catnaps anywhere: airports, train stations, the library, movie theaters, you name it. Her unoccupied hand found its way to his and she intertwined their fingers together. He gave her hand a small squeeze and smiled a soft smile that didn't reach his eyes. She could tell that he was stressed, but she intended to make good on her promise not to break down… at least until she was alone, later.

"Better?" he asked when she set her almost-empty mug back on the table. Catching him off guard, she crashed her lips onto his and kissed him much more deeply than a simple 'good morning' peck.

"Much better," she said with a raised eyebrow when she pulled away. "I packed you a bag."

"You didn't need to do that Lena," but secretly, he liked being taken care of. It made him feel wanted and special. Elena was the only person who ever doted on him like that, she was always surprising him with little things and he would have been lying if he said it didn't make his heart skip a beat every time. Ironically, it made him feel like more of a man because it meant he had done something to deserve the love of a good woman.

"You'll be glad I did when they come around with that crappy hospital food. The cake isn't even good. Cake, Damon! They messed up cake! I take it as a personal affront." She'd been in the hospital for a full week after her car accident and she got over the creepy noises in the hallways at night, she got over the crying families she heard in the waiting rooms, she even got over the smarmy orderlies who stopped by her room far too often, but the one thing she couldn't cope with was the paucity of good dessert. The cookies were always stale and the cake was always dry, and since when did Jello qualify as a proper dessert? When she was discharged Damon wanted to take her home for a warm bath and good night's rest in her own bed, but the only thing she could think of was getting an éclair at their favorite bakery.

"I love you and your neuroses," he said with a smile and she hoisted a canvas bag onto the table and began to pull out the contents. Cookies, trail mix, fruit snacks, brownies, candy bars, chips, crackers, and a few cans of soda.

"Sustenance," she said as she gestured proudly to her collection, "now, we can handle anything." With none of the ceremony of the reveal, she used her arm to sweep everything off of the table and back into the bag. She stood up to get a few last things together before they left but he grabbed her wrist and pulled her towards him so she was standing between his knees. With more vulnerability than she'd ever seen in him in the years they'd known each other he wrapped his arms around her waist and rested his head against her stomach.

"I'm so sorry Elena," he mumbled.

"For what?" she asked. She was confused as to what he was apologizing for, the last thing they fought about was the Christmas issue and they'd solved that… a few times. She ran her fingers through his silky black hair, for what she realized might be the last time for a while.

"For putting you through this again," his voice cracked over the words and she had to force herself to remember her no crying rule.

"There's nowhere else I'd rather be."

"I love you so much." For the first time in his life he sounded like he might break. His voice was thick and stiff with unspoken anxiety and fear; gone was the haughty jocular lilt that had become his trademark.

"I love you, too," she whispered and held him close to her. He was usually the one comforting and protecting her, but now that she had to be strong for him she felt how much weight he must carry on his shoulders every day. "I love you, Damon, always."

Their few moments of silent intimacy were interrupted when Stefan shuffled into the kitchen. "Are you guys almost, whoa—sorry," he interrupted his own question when he saw them, obviously embarrassed to have interrupted such a private moment. Damon pulled away from her and rubbed his palm over his face, but not before Elena saw the telltale track of a tear down his cheek.

"That excited to get rid of me, huh Stef?" Damon asked, donning his armor of bravado once again. Without any further comment he took Elena's hand and headed out to the car.

"Are you sure you don't want to slow down on those?" Damon asked as Elena cracked the pop-top on another Red Bull, her second since they'd arrived at the hospital less than an hour before.

"I'm just waking up," she shrugged and took a drink, and it was true, after two cups of coffee and the first energy drink, she was starting to feel like she could actually handle the rest of the day.

"Your heart is going to explode," he quipped as he watched her, committing every detail of her to his memory.

"Good morning Salvatores," Dr. Fell greeted as she walked into the room.

"Morning," Damon nodded, "hey Doc, will you tell Elena how bad those things are for her?"

"Well, it's fine in moderation," Dr. Fell shrugged, after all, she'd seen people put a lot worse things in their bodies.

"'Moderation' as in like washing down two cups of coffee with two Red Bulls?" Damon asked smugly, knowing he'd won.

"Yeah… that's not so good," the doctor agreed. "You've got a long day ahead of you, you'd probably be better off with water."

"I'm fine," Elena dismissed them both with a wave of her hand. "I'm doing this as a community service, I'm not a morning person."

"Ok, well let me know if you start to feel dizzy. I have your final test results Damon and it looks like we're all ready to go," she rambled off some values and numbers to them as she donned a pair of sterile gloves. "I'm going to put in an IV catheter now, and then one of the nurses will be in to get you prepped and we'll give you your premeds."

"What are those?" Elena asked. She'd read as much as she could about his surgery, but she was still a little unclear on the details.

"The premeds? It's just antibiotics and pain control. Patients who start on morphine before their procedures tend to experience less pain afterwards," she explained and swabbed alcohol over the inside of Damon's elbow to place the catheter. "This is going to pinch for a second," she warned as she deftly stuck the needle into the vein. Damon hardly felt the stick at all; all he could feel were to warm brown eyes watching him. The good doctor taped the hub of the catheter in place and tossed the needle in the sharps container. "Alright, sit tight for just a second. I'm going to go get a scrub nurse." Dr. Fell left the room and Damon cleared his throat to get Elena's attention away from his taped up arm. He knew she hated needles, and she was looking a little pale.

"It doesn't hurt," he said, knowing the question was on the tip of her tongue. She sidled up next to him on the hospital bed and nestled her head on his shoulder. Not one to miss an opportunity, he kissed her. "I like this."

"What?" she questioned, knowing that he probably didn't mean getting stabbed with a needle.

"Getting to kiss you and touch you… sober. Finally having you," he answered honestly.

"_Finally_?" Elena smiled and playfully bumped his shoulder, "you've always had me, Damon."

"I wish I wouldn't have wasted so much time," he mumbled and toyed with the ends of her hair.

"Then it wouldn't be our love story," she said softly, not liking the look of sadness in his blue eyes.

"It's a damn good story," he chuckled when he realized how sappy he had become, "this conversation never leaves this room."

"Never ever," she agreed. No one would believe her if she did repeat it anyways. "Before you even ask, I'm fine and stop worrying."

"Am I that predictable?" It was as though she stole the thought right from his head. She knew him better than he knew himself, and he loved sharing a wavelength with her.

"I can hear you thinking from over here," she replied and laid her head back on his shoulder. "I'll be here the whole time."

"You don't have to stay the whole time, it'll be a few hours," he tried to reason but she just shrugged her shoulders. "It's fine if you want to go home, I… I would like to see you when I'm done though. If it's not too late." He didn't want to make her feel obligated to sit around the depressing waiting room, Dr. Fell warned that they could be in surgery for up to eight hours.

"I'm not going anywhere, Damon," she smiled and kissed him as passionately as she knew how. She wanted him to know that he wasn't a burden and that she meant it when she said she wouldn't rather be anywhere else. She darted her tongue out to caress his bottom lip and tangled her fingers into his hair. It felt like their first kiss on the night they confessed their feelings, full of love and promise. Elena could feel the tension dissipate from his shoulders and she wanted to steal him away from the sterile exam room, the awaiting surgical suite, and everything that was ahead of him. She wanted to take him somewhere warm and beautiful and build a castle with walls so high that nothing could ever touch him again. Elena Gilbert was nothing if not a fighter and she felt confident that she could handle (and had handled) just about anything that life could possibly throw at her, but she couldn't handle seeing Damon so wounded and vulnerable.

"Thank you," he whispered against her lips.

Their moment was broken by the squeak of the exam room door and Dr. Fell and a nurse entered.

"Elena," Dr. Fell said softly, "I just need to go over a few things with you while Anna gets a few things ready for Damon."

"Of course," Elena nodded, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear and following the doctor into the hallway.

"Mr. Salvatore?" the nurse asked and Damon just nodded, "sorry to do this but I have to clip your hair down for surgery." She pulled an ancient looking pair of rusty clippers from the drawer and sprayed them down with lubricant.

"STOP!" a shrill voice shouted from the doorway, "Stop! Stop!" Caroline barreled into the room and snatched the clippers from the bewildered nurse's hands. "I can't believe you were going to let her cut your hair, Damon!"

"Ma'am," the nurse started, but Caroline cut her off.

"I'm really sorry, but he is my best friend's husband and I'm not going to let you ruin him. No offense, you're probably super great at nursing stuff, but look at this guy," she gestured to a clearly embarrassed Damon. "How do you think he would look with some hospital buzz cut? I can handle this."

The nurse just shook her head and swiftly left the room. Caroline dropped the clippers on the counter and immediately washed her hands.

"Gross, Damon, I can't believe you were going to let her touch your head with those. They probably have lice and scabies crawling on them."

"I know you think I'm stunningly handsome, Blondie, but she has to cut my hair sooner or later."

"Don't flatter yourself Uno," Caroline reached into her large purse and pulled out a pink zippered cosmetic bag from which she removed a pair of sharp scissors, a comb, and a straight razor. "Now hold still." She stood behind him and started working on a much more acceptable hair cut.

"So how did I get so lucky as to earned a Forbes make-over?"

"Elena wanted me to cut all her hair off, and I couldn't do it. It's just so long and pretty and I'd feel bad about wearing fabulous hairstyles around her until it grew back," Caroline pouted. "So I figured this way you'd get to keep your hair, Elena gets to keep her hair, and I still get to peruse the spring looks in Elle. Win-win-win!"

"Why would she cut all of her hair off?"

"She didn't want you to feel alone," she shrugged.

"Wow," Damon muttered and looked down at his ring. _For better or worse_, he smiled bittersweetly.

"Don't move your head!" Caroline admonished. "So… how are things?"

"Don't tip toe Caroline, if you want to know if I'm freaking out just ask."

"Are you freaking out?"

"A little."

"Are you scared?"

"A little."

"Are you worried about Elena?" He didn't answer right away, but shifted his eyes to the door where he could see Elena nodding at something Dr. Fell was telling her.

"She doesn't deserve this, she shouldn't have to be here."

"I'm totally going to venture into Hallmark territory, so brace yourself, but she doesn't _have_ to be here. She's here because she loves you, Damon. She loves you more than anything in the world."

"Still…"

"Still nothing! Don't be a nay-sayer. There!" Caroline said with a flourish and stepped back to admire her handiwork. "A little bit of pomade and some styling and you won't even be able to see it."

"Stef can give me hair shaping tutorials," Damon said, running his hand through his locks. He wouldn't admit it freely, but he was glad Caroline arrived in time to save him from looking like an 18-year-old military recruit.

"Twinsies!" Caroline chirped.

"Yeah… no," Damon shook his head. Caroline dropped her pink bag back into her purse just as Dr. Fell and Elena came back in to escort him to the surgery suite.

"Hey Uno, don't die, ok?" the blonde said with an upbeat smile.

"Keep Lena away from the energy drinks," he smirked, looking directly at Elena, "even if she fights you for them." Elena only smiled and rolled her eyes.

"Ready, Damon?" Dr. Fell asked.

"Yep," he smirked and kicked his feet up on the gurney and grabbed Elena's hand tightly. Two orderlies wheeled him out of the room and down the hall to a set of double doors. Elena didn't need to be told that the doors were as far as she could go.

"I'll be waiting here, ok?" she tried her best to smile bravely.

"Make sure you get some rest, and eat something."

"I will. I love you, Damon."

"I love you, Elena." He kissed her one last time, relishing the taste and the feel of her lips on his.

Elena made her way back out to the waiting room where Stefan and Caroline were watching the morning news on a flat screen TV. They both looked up at her at the same and Caroline leapt from her seat to pull her friend into a warm hug.

"I can't do it, Care," Elena sobbed; releasing everything she had tried so hard to hide from Damon. "I can't just wait here."

"I know sweetie, I know," Caroline cooed softly and rubbed Elena's back.

"Why don't we go grab something to eat?" Stefan suggested. "It'll be a few hours before we get any news, and we could all do with some breakfast."

"Ok, sure," Elena nodded tearfully and dabbed at her eyes.

"I'll drive," Caroline chirped and bounced out to her car.

_Meanwhile_

"Elena seems to be holding up well," Dr. Fell suggested to Damon.

"_Seems_ to be, I just hope that's the case," Damon shrugged.

"It's not really my place, so forgive me for saying so, but I see a lot of patients come through here who don't have what you two have." She knew she was risking it by crossing the patient-doctor professional boundary, but if it would put Damon's mind at ease it would be worth it.

"What's that?"

"Someone like your wife to fight for you and take care of you. A lot of people have to go it alone. I mean, they all have families and what not, but most of them are still alone at the end of the day. Let's put it this way, I haven't seen many wives pack their _own_ overnight bags to spend the night in one of those cramped recovery rooms with their husbands."

"She insisted." He had told her the night before that she didn't need to stay with him and that she'd be more comfortable at home in their bed, but she stubbornly refused and continued packing.

"It's sweet," the doctor smiled. "The anesthetist is going to get you under while I scrub in. We'll get you back to your overnight bags in a few hours, alright?" Damon just nodded.

"Mr. Salvatore," the anesthetist greeted and held a mask over his face, "count backwards from ten."

He did as he was told and before he reached six he was drifting back to four summers before. Everything seemed so real, like he was re-living the moment again. The scent of honeysuckle and magnolia wafted on the warm breeze and fireflies danced in the tall grass along the river like an opus to the ideal Southern summer night. If he had been the romantic type, it would have been the perfect evening for a candle-lit picnic or a boat ride by moonlight, but he wasn't, so he was content just lying in the dew-glazed grass looking up at the stars.

"I caught some," Elena giggled as she set a mason jar of fireflies down next to him. She was a vision in a gauzy white sundress and wavy hair. Their shoes were around somewhere, having long been shed in preference for the soft grass. "Twenty-seven of them, bet you couldn't top that."

"You're never going to grow out of that, are you?" he smirked, but he admired Elena for holding on to her child-like wonder about little things like lightning bugs and shooting stars. Even in her twenties she was still fascinated by the small joys in life.

"Nope," she answered and stretched out in the grass with her head on his stomach. "Don't act like you don't love yourself a good bug lantern, Damon."

"They're alright, I guess," he said and picked up the jar to watch the little bugs flash their greenish lights into the night.

"You're so full of it," she laughed and took the jar from his hands. "What do you think they're saying to each other when they light up like that?"

"Let me out of this jar," he offered.

"I'll let them go before we go back inside," she promised. She never did keep them for long, just enough to marvel at their little glowing bodies. "Want to go on the rope swing?"

"Is that thing even safe? It's been years since anyone used it."

"Yeah it's safe, I used it yesterday. Come on," she jumped up and pulled his hands, emphasizing her request.

"Fine," he groaned and stood up, dusting himself off.

"Race ya," she smiled impishly and took off across the moonlit field. Before he could stop himself he was chasing after her. "Come on, Damon," she shouted and her dress caught some of the silver strands of light before she disappeared into the tree line. The last thing he remembered was running into the blackness behind her.

Caroline had hoped that Elena would relax enough to maybe take a nap at some point during the day. If the dark circles under her bloodshot eyes were any indication, her best friend was beyond exhausted. Instead, she kept pacing the waiting room, nearly wearing a trench into the floor tiles. Stefan had tried to get her to take a break several times but she wouldn't. Every time the door to the patient area opened Elena jumped, waiting for her name to be called.

"What is taking so long?" she growled, running her jittery fingers harshly through her hair. "How long has it been?"

"It's only been a four hours Elena, the doctor said it could be a while," Stefan attempted reasonably. "You sure you don't want to sit down for a little while?"

"No, I'm fine. Four hours is kind of a long time. You don't think something happened do you?" Elena started worrying again.

"Lena, I'm sure everything is fine," Caroline said with a forced smile. Truthfully, even she was starting to get antsy but every time she looked over at Stefan he was working on his iPad like he was waiting for his train and not for his brother to get out of surgery, which helped her stay calm.

"They'd tell us if something was wrong though, right?" Elena questioned with her hands on her hips, walking faster than before. "They'd at least send someone out here to update us, wouldn't they?"

"I'm sure they would, so no news is good news," Caroline agreed.

"But what if—" Elena started again.

"Elena!" Stefan said loudly, looking up from his work, "just stop! You're working yourself up over nothing. Just sit down and take a beat."

"Nothing?" Elena seethed, "he's your _brother_ Stefan."

"And do you see me freaking out?" when she didn't answer, he continued "Exactly. Now just relax. It's going to be a few more hours."

"We could go look at the babies?" Caroline suggested, trying to think of something fun to keep her mind off of things, however 'fun' was in desperate short supply in a hospital.

"I don't want to look at babies. I want to know where Damon is," Elena snapped.

"You already know where he is, now please, just relax a little," Stefan tried again. Damon would kill him if he knew he was letting Elena work herself into a frenzy, but he might take it even worse if his older brother knew that he was losing patience with his over-caffeinated wife.

"I'm going to the cafeteria," Elena sneered and sulked off.

"Does she seem a little off balance to you?" Caroline asked cautiously as soon as Elena was gone.

"A little?" Stefan raised an eyebrow, "she's a total basket case."

"Mrs. Salvatore," a nurse called to the waiting room. Stefan and Caroline looked at each other with a sinking expression.

"She just stepped out for a moment. I'm Damon's brother, though, is something wrong?"

"Dr. Fell is finished with the procedure and everything went well. She was able to remove the whole tumor, but there were some complications with swelling. We're going to have to keep Mr. Salvatore in what's called a medically induced coma until the swelling decreases. To do so, Dr. Fell will administer some drugs that will basically keep him under anesthesia to allow his body time to heal."

"For how long?" Stefan asked, still seeming unworried.

"It could be anywhere from a day to a week or more, it will all depend on how he reacts to the medication."

"Ok," Stefan nodded, "when can we see him?"

"In a few minutes, they're moving him right now and I can come back out and get you."

'Thank you," Stefan mumbled as the nurse walked away. He turned to Caroline, "what are the odds that would happen during the two minutes Elena walked away?"

"Are we going to tell her?" Caroline asked, clearly distressed at the most recent development.

"We have to, she has to know," Stefan sighed, "I'll tell her."

"Tell me what?" They both turned to see Elena standing in the hallway with her arms wrapped around herself.

"Oh god," Elena whispered when she pushed the door to the small hospital room open. In a flash she was beside the bed and had Damon's hand sandwiched between her own. "Damon?" She hadn't expected any response, but her heart still allowed her mind to foolishly hope that everything would magically fall back into place, that he would open his beautiful blue eyes and flash her one of his winning smiles.

"Your hands are so cold," she sniffled and pulled his hand close to her chest, holding it flat over her heart. As ridiculous as she felt talking to her unconscious husband, she had read somewhere that people can still hear and feel when they're in a coma. Hoping it was true, she continued, not wanting him to feel alone if he could hear her. "I know what you're thinking, why don't I warm them up, right?"

"You probably have that adorable smug grin right now, don't you?" she could picture his expression perfectly.

"You're awfully quiet," she smiled at her own bad joke and sat down on the edge of the bed, still drawing circles on the back on his hand with her thumb.

"I love you, Damon," she told him and hoped above all that he could hear that. Her trembling hand stretched out to brush his unruly hair from his face and pressed a kiss to his forehead. She carefully shifted around on the bed, freeing herself from the various wires and fluid lines and lay down alongside him with her head of his chest. The steady rhythm of his heart was comforting and, with her eyes closed, she felt like they almost could have been back at home in their bed.

"Don't leave me, ok?" she muttered sleepily. Lulled by the thought of snuggling together under Damon's heavy duvet cover with a fire in the bedroom fireplace she drifted off to sleep.

_"Oh god," Elena groaned and rolled over, pulling a pillow over her face to block the sunlight. "Damon?" Her voice was so clear in his mind, he knew it had to be real. It wasn't like the dreams he'd been having, he could feel her with him. It had to be real._

_"Shh, he's still asleep," he answered cheekily and pulled her back flush against his chest. It felt like one of those rare perfect moments that he just wanted to stay in bed with her for the rest of the day._

_"Your hands are so cold," she gasped when his palms met the skin of her stomach under her shirt. The warmth of her skin radiated onto him and his fingers tingled from the contact._

_"Well…" he said suggestively._

_"I know what you're thinking, why don't I warm them up, right?" he could almost feel her rolling her eyes when she said it._

_"Right," he agreed and kissed her neck where it was exposed through her thick brown hair._

_"You probably have that adorable smug grin right now, don't you?" she giggled as his breath tickled the sensitive skin behind her ear._

_"Right again."_

_"You're awfully quiet," she mumbled and caressed his hands softly._

_"I'm trying seduce you wife, give me a break," he smirked. She wriggled out of his grasp and rolled over to face him._

_"I love you, Damon," she smiled and kissed his forehead sweetly._

_"I love you, Elena," he replied and kissed her nose, laughing when she scrunched it. He loved it when she did that. She settled against his side and laid her head on his chest. He inhaled deeply and filled his lungs with the floral scent of her shampoo and the peachy notes of her body wash, it amazed him that she always smelled like spring._

_"Don't leave me, ok?" he heard her mumble against his chest._

_"Never."_

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**A/N: Sorry if that last part is a little confusing, it's supposed to be what's really happening (Elena's part) and what Damon is imagining is happening. I hope it comes across that way :) Please (pretty please) review, I love reading what you fine people think!**


	13. Chapter 13: We Got Us

_Sorry for taking a bit to update here, but I really wanted to do this chapter a justice before posting it. I hope it's ok, but let me know what you think :) I also started another D/E story called _Heartlines_, check it out if you have a chance. Happy reading all of you amazing people!_

_FineFreshFierce585- You totally just made my day friend! Thank you for the great review, I'm teary-eyed :) I hope you like the update!_

_Debbie1689- Thank you! It was a good one :) Hope you like the new chapter!_

_ash512forever- Thank you a million :) I've always thought the friendship-cum-romance is a really sweet and compelling premise :) Enjoy the new chapter!_

_damonash- Thank you! I'm glad you liked the last part, I was hoping it would come across well in writing. _

_scarlett2112- Thank you! Let me know how I did on this chapter!  
_

_VampireGleek77- I'm so sorry to hear that friend :( **hugs** I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter though, I hope this one is happier for you :)_

_Cherriesandapples- Thank you! This chapter is much happier :) Enjoy!_

_noobishere- Aghh the dreaded E-word :O I'm sure you kicked a** though! Hope you're getting some time to relax now :D_

_jules- Thank you for the great review! I should put tissue warnings on the sad chapters. More bubbly Caroline ahead ;)_

_Guest- Thank you! New chapter fresh from the fanfic oven :) Hope you like it!_

_delenax1927- Thank you so much! I am glad you are enjoying it so far, I haven't read it through from beginning to current now, so I hope the continuity is ok :) I'm a sucker for happy endings, too! I can't do sad, sad makes me sad, ergo... happy endings for everyone! :D_

_vikkidillard- Thank you so much! I hope you like the update, too :)_

_Guest (2)- Happier times ahead! Thank you for the review ;D_

_kaybaby1127- I could never kill him off, it would just be too sad and they make *such* a cute couple! Thank you for reading, I hope you like the new chapter (less stress and more happy ;)_

_DISCLAIMER: I do not own The Vampire Diaries, the characters, or their likenesses. No copyright infringement intended._

* * *

_Four days later_

"_Lying on the floor was a dead man, in evening dress, with a knife in his heart. He was withered, wrinkled, and loathsome of visage. It was not until they had examined the rings that they recognized who it was_." Elena finished theatrically in her best narrator accent and closed the book in her hands. She placed it on top of the growing stack by Damon's bedside and straightened the tower to prevent its collapse.

"Jeez, poor Basil," she mumbled to herself and rubbed her weary eyes. "With friends like Dorian, who needs enemies?"

"Sorry about that, that one was kind of depressing," she apologized to Damon. "That's all I have for today, Stefan is supposed to bring by some more tonight. We could start _Lord of the Rings_ tomorrow, or maybe _The Aeneid_. I'm kind of in the mood for an epic adventure. Or what about something a little more modern; we have that new Zadie Smith novel you got me for Christmas and I know how much you secretly loved _White Teeth_." Talking to Damon while he was still unconscious seemed strange and uncomfortable at first, but after almost a week it was becoming frighteningly natural. Still, she missed his sarcastic comments and inappropriate jokes. She missed his blue eyes and lop-sided grin. She missed _him_… more than anything

"I know, I know, you probably would rather read _The Great Gatsby_ but I was serious when I said I can't stand Daisy," she smiled slightly, with the exception of _Catcher in the Rye_ they never agreed on literature. "Fine, you win. We'll read _Gatsby_ tomorrow, but I get to pick the next one, and I'm warning you… it may be a Brontë."

Elena stood from her chair and stretched, groaning as her stiff muscles were rejuvenated. She dug around through her purse until she found a small pot of cherry vanilla lip balm. It was Damon's favorite, he told her so every time he kissed her when she was wearing it.

"I ran out of the plain stuff, so cherry vanilla is going to have to do for now. You never really seemed to mind it before," she explained as she applied some to his dry lips. She wanted so badly to kiss him and she would have had it not been for his endotracheal tube; instead she settled for kissing his cheeks tenderly. Dr. Fell had outlined all of the routine care Damon would need while he was under, including lip balm, eye drops, a ventilator, and a feeding tube. Instead of having the ICU nurse stop by every hour, Elena volunteered to take on the more simple tasks and keep the staff fresh for the more complex jobs, like changing ringer bags and titrating his propofol infusion. As much as she hated seeing him intubated and connected to a million monitors, she was overwhelmingly grateful for the dedication and careful attention of the doctors and nurses who swarmed around Damon on a daily basis.

"I hope you know that you're _never_ going to be able to give me any guff about sleeping in, because despite what you may think, I've _never_ slept for five days straight before." She laughed at her own joke and picked up his hand to cradle it between her own. Dr. Fell had suggested that Elena take off Damon's wedding band to accommodate for any swelling that he might experience and she followed her orders, but she hated it. His ring was on a silver chain around her neck and she couldn't wait to put it back on him.

"I had my job interview today for _Virginia Living_," she told him. "It was over the phone, but it went pretty well." When her mobile rang the day before she was unsure whether she even wanted to job anymore; as she sat in a tiny hospital room tending to her husband, everything else just seemed trivial in comparison but then she remembered the promise she made to Damon.

"I only took the interview because I promised you that I would," she recalled their conversation about distance and moving right after their engagement and she smiled at how supportive Damon was at the time. "I got it," she admitted, "and guess what my by-line is going to be? Elena J. _Salvatore_. I changed my name at the courthouse when we got married, but I wanted to surprise you. I guess it still will be a surprise." Just as she was about to delve into the details about the interview, Dr. Fell knocked on the door and poked her head into the room.

"Elena, hey, do you have a minute?" she asked politely, everyone knew that Elena had all the time in the world since she had been basically tethered to Damon's bedside the entire week. Stefan and Caroline came by everyday to take Elena out to breakfast and some fresh air and one of the residents on Damon's floor graciously loaned Elena a key to the resident/intern locker room so she could shower and dry her hair in the mornings, but other than that she rarely ever left Damon's side. Stefan tried to get her to go home overnight, but she stubbornly refused, instead asking Caroline to help her construct a makeshift bed in Damon's room out of waiting room chairs and yoga mats. It wasn't exactly the height of comfort, but Elena figured that she wouldn't get any sleep if she weren't with Damon anyways.

"Sure, come in, I was just telling Damon about my new job. What's going on?"

"Congratulations. I have some more good news for you today," Dr. Fell beamed. "Damon's test results came back and all things considered, I think we are on track to try and wake him up tomorrow."

"_Tomorrow_?" Elena squealed as she jumped off the bed, "really? Do you mean it? Would we be able to take him home tomorrow?"

"I'd like to run a couple of blood panels before discharging him, but if everything goes according to plan, I don't see why not."

"This is the best news _ever_, thank you so much Dr. Fell," Elena was glowing with the news. Meredith Fell would never admit to playing favorites among her patients, but if she were forced to choose a favorite it would be the young Salvatore couple, hands down. Elena's dedication to Damon was both heart breaking and inspiring. In her many years of practice Meredith had never seen such devotion, and even though she knew it must have been hard on the young woman, Elena was never anything but pleasant and optimistic with the hospital staff. She soaked in information like a sponge and was always eager to help the nurses and do anything that would make their jobs easier. Meredith got into medicine for people like Damon and Elena, and she couldn't describe the elation she felt from being able to give them good news. She checked Damon's machines briefly and marked some numbers on her clipboard before showing herself out.

"Did you hear that, Damon? Tomorrow? Pretty great stuff, eh? And we'll finally get to sleep in our own bed. I know how much you must miss your nice sheets and fancy pillow top Euro whatever mattress." She had brought him some nice Egyptian cotton sheets and a thicker blanket along with some down pillows, but if she knew Damon at all she knew he still wouldn't be comfortable without his luxury amenities at home. Plans for Damon's homecoming raced through her mind: dinner (maybe she could get Stefan to cook for that one), bubble bath, and she'd even warm his pajamas in the dryer like he liked so well. There was of course the matter of their reunion as lovers, and while she wasn't sure how to go about asking Dr. Fell about the restrictions on such activities, she knew Damon would certainly get the full run down before they went home.

"God, I can't wait to see you again," she sighed and brushed an errant lock of hair from his forehead. "Tomorrow better hurry up."

Later that night Elena woke up to a shallow, persistent beeping noise permeating her dreams. She rolled over carefully on her shakily cobbled bed and slid out from between her covers, straightening her pajamas as she approached Damon's bed. There was a small green light flashing on his EEG machine that she had never noticed before and she was quite familiar with all of his equipment. The waves running across the screen no longer looked like the steady high amplitude arches she'd watched for hours and hours, these ones were jagged with long periods of shallow swells. Electing to air on the side of caution she pressed the red call button on the wall and within a minute a nurse was in the room.

"Sorry, I know it's probably nothing, but this light started flashing and now all the stuff on the screen looks different than it has for the last few days," Elena explained. "He still looks exactly the same though."

The nurse looked at the screen for a few seconds and when another burst of angry-looking sharp waves appeared, her expression intensified and she disappeared from the room only to return with Dr. Fell and a resident, whom Elena had never seen before. She fidgeted uncomfortably in the corner of the room while Dr. Fell quizzed the young resident on anesthetic procedures and monitoring. They were muttering something about alpha and delta waves that Elena didn't quite understand.

"Good catch, Elena," Dr. Fell called over her shoulder as she read over the EEG print out from the last few minutes, "if you ever consider a second career as a physician, I'd say you're right on track."

"Is it something bad?" Elena asked with evident concern in her wavering voice. "Everything was fine earlier today, and—"

"It's fine. It just looks like Damon's brain activity is increasing a little," Dr. Fell was still reading the printout and watching the machine. "We decreased his propofol infusion tonight in preparation for tomorrow but it's looking like he's anxious to wake up now."

"Now, like _now_ now?" Elena asked excitedly, she could already feel her pulse start to increase at the thought of being able to have Damon back so soon.

"Uhhh… yep," Dr. Fell said distractedly as she looked over the readings on his other machines. She looked up at Elena and smiled, "_now_ now."

"Oh my gosh, oh gosh. Ok… I need to get changed, and call Stefan. Oh my… ok," she was counting off her tasks in her head and darting around the small space looking for her phone. She'd brought the outfit they were married in for when he woke up, and after a week without him she really wasn't keen on welcoming him back in her flannel kitten pajamas. She knew Stefan wanted to be there, and as long as they had around a half hour, that was plenty of time for him to make it from the boardinghouse. "How long?"

"It'll take us about forty-five minutes to set everything up," the resident following Dr. Fell answered.

"Ok, that's perfect. I'll be right back," she ducked out of the room and pulled out her cell phone, quickly dialing Stefan's number to tell him to come over as quickly as possible. She looked to her left and to her right, when she determined she was alone in the hallway she broke out in a little victory dance. An orderly rounded the corner pushing an elderly patient in a wheelchair and Elena mumbled a quick "sorry" and acted like was had been trying to stretch out her sore calves. As soon as the intruders were gone she finished her dance with a kick and a jump.

"Alright guys," Dr. Fell said with a sigh as she straightened her white coat. Stefan had his arm around Elena's shoulders as much for his own support as for hers. "So here's what's going to happen: we're going to shut off Damon's propofol drip, and it's a pretty fast-acting drug so he should wake up within a ten or fifteen minutes. Generally, it's a nice gentle transition, like waking up in the morning after a good night's sleep, _but_ we won't be able to extubate him until he's fully conscious. That said, sometimes patients can get a little freaked out when they wake up attached to a ventilator and all of the equipment."

"What can we do?" Stefan asked urgently, showing his nerves for the first time all week.

"We've already administered some benzodiazepines to sedate him, so they'll be on board when he wakes up. It would be really helpful if one of you would stay in the room during recovery. We need a lot of staff present, so unfortunately only one of you can stay."

"Can we have just a minute Dr. Fell?" Elena asked. As soon as the doctor was gone she turned to Stefan. "You should stay. You're his brother and he'd definitely recognize you."

"Are you crazy Lena? You're his wife and he's known you for as long as he's known me. You should stay," Stefan countered. The three of them were family and there was no reason that he would recognize Stefan over Elena.

"But what if…" she started with tears in her eyes, which she wiped away furiously so as not to ruin her newly-applied make-up, "what if something happened and he doesn't remember any of us? Like amnesia or something. I read about it, and it happens."

"I don't think Damon is going to forget who we are. But I can stay if you want." Stefan could see that Elena was truly scared that Damon would forget her. He didn't really want to be around if Damon woke up with no memory of who he was or who Stefan and Elena were either, but Elena had more than paid her dues.

"Thank you Stefan," Elena smiled tearfully and hugged him. "I'll be right out in the hall though."

"Guys?" Dr. Fell asked popping her head out of the door, "we're ready."

Stefan and Elena shared a meaningful glance and Stefan disappeared into the room that had been Elena's home over the last week. She paced the length of the hallway with her hands on her hips and the seconds felt like hours as she waited for Damon to wake up.

Meanwhile in the room Stefan was standing nervously at the end of Damon's hospital bed as the medical staff began to shut off and remove his monitoring equipment. Like Dr. Fell promised, it was only a matter of minutes before Damon began to stir. Also as promised, the first thing he did was try to yank the IV line out of his arm.

"Damon!" Dr. Fell said loudly, hoping to get his attention despite his twilight state. "Damon! It's Dr. Fell, I'm here with your brother, Stefan. I need you to calm down and try to keep your arms at your sides."

Damon seemed to understand because he stopped yanking on his lines and kept his hands still. He tried to say something, but the tube in his throat made it difficult.

"We'll get that tube out in just a second, alright?" Dr. Fell said. "Can you sit up?" Damon struggled to sit upright, but did as he was told. "Good, now I need you to exhale as hard as you can and I'm going to pull out the tube." The whole extubation process was the most unpleasant part of the situation but once it was done Damon sat in bed looking much like he did before going into surgery. He fixed eyes with Stefan and cocked his head to the side.

"Are you a doctor, too?" he asked, sounding confused as he looked at Stefan's casual attire.

"Damon, it's me, Stefan… your brother," Stefan said moving around the side of the bed as the nurses began to filter out.

"Brother?" Damon asked with furrowed brows. "What did you say your name was?"

"Stefan. Come on Damon, you have to remember me. It's Stefan!" the younger Salvatore panicked, looking over at Dr. Fell for answers to his unasked questions. "Dr. Fell what's going on?"

"Stef," Damon said loudly trying to get his brother's attention. "Stef!" he shouted as loud as his dry throat would allow, which finally got Stefan's attention. "I'm just messing with you, you idiot." Damon smirked and it was clear that he was no worse for the wear because of his surgery.

"Holy shit, Damon!" Stefan said clenching his fist, trying not to punch his convalescing brother. "You are such a fucking moron. If you didn't just have brain surgery I would punch you so hard. You're lucky you didn't try that shit with Elena."

"I'm not stupid Stef. You're just too easy to mess with. Now where is my wife?"

"Nice to see you too, brother," Stefan rolled his eyes, "I'll go get her."

"Oh my gosh, Damon," Elena exclaimed as she leapt onto his bed and kissed all over his face. "I love love love you."

"Air, baby, can't breathe" he gasped and pried her arms away from his neck.

"Sorry," she smiled bashfully and hugged him around his middle with her head on his chest. "I missed you _so_ much."

"Elena, it's only been a few hours," he laughed, wrapping his arms around her waist to hold her snugly on his lap, "but I missed you too baby."

"Damon," she pulled back with a look of shock. He didn't know how long he'd been in a coma for, there was really no way he could have known since the last thing he would have remembered would be going into surgery, "it's been five days."

"What are you talking about?"

"You were in a coma for five days. Something happened in your surgery and there was a lot of swelling and they had to keep you in a coma," she explained, feeling like the whole situation was so melodramatic now that she had him back in her arms.

"Oh," he mumbled, clearly at a loss for words. "Well… that explains why I'm so horny."

"Damon!" she chided and slapped his chest lightly as a deep blush overwhelmed her cheeks.

"What? If what you say is true, it's been _five_ days, Elena," he chuckled and kissed her temple.

"How do you feel otherwise?"

"Little bit of a headache, and I'm starving, but other than that, I feel fine."

"What would you like to eat? I still have most of our snack stash," she asked with a conspiratorial smile. Just like she said, the snack bag would come in handy. She picked through the bag and handed him a chocolate granola bar and took one for herself as well.

"So when can we get out of here?" Damon asked, happily munching on his first bit of food in a week.

"Dr. Fell just has to give you the final ok and we're gone," Elena leaned back into his chest and enjoyed their moment. He glanced at the corner of the room where Elena had been sleeping and noticed the towering stack of books next to his bed.

"Have you been here the whole time?" he asked as he played with her hair.

"Not the_ whole_ time. I left for breakfast everyday with Care and Stefan."

"Lena," he sighed, "you didn't have to do that. You could have gone home and slept. That doesn't seem very comfortable," he gestured to her cot.

"Eh," she shrugged, "I didn't want to be that far from you." His heart warmed at her admission and he held her tighter. He couldn't really say much about her hospital camp-out because he had done much the same thing when she was hospitalized after the car accident.

"I love you so much," he whispered in her ear and kissed her cheek.

"Oh," she exclaimed, "I almost forgot!" She unclasped the necklace and slid his ring off of the chain. "I had to take this off and I wanted to make sure I didn't lose it." He took the ring from her outstretched hand and slipped it back on with a smile.

"Oh my gosh Stefan, I can't believe you left me asleep!" Caroline's irritated voice rang from down the hallway. "Way to be, Dos!"

"Incoming," Damon mumbled, making Elena giggle happily in his arms.

"He lives!" Caroline announced dramatically from the doorway, dressed to the nines in a fashionable skirt and blazer, with her perfectly coiffed curls bouncing around her shoulders. Even in the middle of the night, Caroline Forbes left no fabulous detail untouched. Stefan followed shyly behind her. "I would have been here sooner if _someone_ hadn't forgotten to mention the tiny detail of you coming out of your coma after brain surgery," the blonde explained and narrowed her eyes at Stefan who just shrugged. "But whatevs, hug time!" She pulled Elena into a tight embrace.

"What about me?" Damon pouted when Caroline didn't make a move for him.

"Ugh, no," Caroline grimaced, "maybe after you shower. No offense."

"I brought you a change of clothes," Elena remembered and pulled a black Varvatos button down and a pair of jeans out of her duffel bag.

"The hospital gown doesn't do it for you, huh?" Damon frowned in jest.

"It's _so_ sexy," Elena growled, "I just figured you'd be more comfortable without flashing your bum to all of Mystic Falls."

"Ok, this is getting awkward," Stefan announced, clapping his hands to get their attention.

"Poor Steffie, we've scarred him enough I guess," Damon smirked and retreated to the restroom to change. Caroline and Stefan helped Elena pack up the personal items she had accumulated in the room during her stay. Damon re-emerged a few minutes later looking like himself again. Elena tossed him his leather jacket and he slipped it on to complete his ensemble.

"Alright Damon," Dr. Fell smiled when she walked into the room, enjoying the warm, friendly vibes that filled the small suite, "it is my pleasure to _finally_ serve you with your eviction notice."

"I'm free to go?" he looked at her hopefully.

"You're free to go," she nodded.

"Thank god," Stefan groaned, "I am starving. I think the Grill is open until two. Who's in?" Elena, Caroline, and Damon all agreed. Stefan and Caroline started down the hall in front of Damon and Elena and when they exited the brightly lit hospital they joined their hands together, thinking that the darkness of the parking lot would hide the gesture.

"They know it's not _that_ dark, right?" Damon whispered to Elena, who was snuggled closely under his arm.

"Caroline spilled the beans, they've been dating for two weeks," Elena leaned in.

"No kidding!" Damon exclaimed, "man… what else did I miss?"

"Damon," Elena giggled as he dragged her towards their bed, "don't you want to get cleaned up first."

"I'd much rather get dirty with you," he grinned and stalked towards her.

"No strenuous activity!" She said wagging a finger at him, "doctor's orders."

"That's ok," he smirked and wiggled his eyebrows, "I'll get comfortable and let you do all of the work."

"Take your clothes off," she said with a playful eye roll and retreating to the en suite bathroom, "I'm going to go run a hot bath."

"Will you be joining me for this _hot_ bath?" he pressed as he followed her to the bathroom.

"Get in," she directed towards the tub that was already beginning to fill up with steaming water. "Less girly bath salts, per your request," she smiled and shook the jar of amber crystals. As she added a scoop to the water the room filled with a sensual woody aroma. Damon leaned against the counter and watched her sitting on the side of the tub, testing the temperature of the water on the soft skin of her wrist. The sight of her tending so affectionately to him aroused a strange feeling in his heart, and he briefly wondered what she would be like as a mother. He had never really fancied himself as proper father material before, but the thought of Elena carrying their baby in her belly and drawing warm baths for a little brown-eyed child brought a smile to his face. It was still far too early to be thinking thoughts like that, but he could enjoy them privately until the topic came up between him and Elena.

"You can't bathe in that Mr. Salvatore," she scolded lightly and sidled in front of him, already at work on the buttons of his shirt. Swiftly, he dipped his head to capture her lips in a sweet kiss that spoke of love and tenderness. Without speaking she took his hand and led him to the tub. He sighed in satisfaction as he slid into the hot water and let his muscles unwind to blissful relaxation. Elena sat on the edge of the tub and watched as Damon leaned his head against the porcelain and closed his eyes. She took the detachable showerhead and wet his hair, careful not to worry the staples that were holding his incision site closed. The water the drained from his raven hair was tinged with the faint crimson of dried blood and iodine surgical scrub; she was glad to finally be washing away the last vestiges of his ordeal. As she worked his favorite shampoo into his scalp he purred happily and sunk deeper into the water. Her fingers gently traced the three-inch scar.

"How does it look?" he asked with a hint of self-consciousness.

"Really good actually, it stopped bleeding and the swelling has gone down a lot from a few days ago. Does it hurt?"

"Nothing hurts right now baby," he answered honestly.

She reached over the water for a sponge and without warning his strong arms reached out and pulled her into the tub, clothes and all.

"You can't bathe in that Mrs. Salvatore," he said smugly and helped her strip off her wet camisole and sleeping shorts. She opened her mouth to scold him for messing around but the playful glint in his eyes stopped her, instead she turned to face him and straddled his legs. Damon's sportive gaze disappeared instantly and was replaced with a dark, smoldering stare and if the look in Elena's eyes was any indication, she wanted him just as much as he needed her. She cradled his face in her hands and traced her fingers over his features.

"I missed you so much," she whispered.

"I will never leave you again," he smiled and drew her close to him to kiss her lips. She quickly took control of the kiss and swept her tongue over his lips and delved into his mouth. Her lips were insistent and ravenous upon his as she tried desperately to make up for lost time. Her hands trailed down his chest, which was slicked with soapsuds, and disappeared under the water. The muscles of his stomach flexed in response to the butterfly touch of her fingertips and he grit his teeth together to hold back a moan. He tangled one of his hands in her hair and tugged her head back to lavish her neck with open-mouthed kisses. Not staying in one place too long he trailed his lips to her collarbone and down to the taut peaks of her bosom. He worshipped her breasts attentively and reduced her to whimpering his name. Determined to maintain control of their reunion tryst she took a firm grasp of his arousal, earning his full attention.

"I want you Damon. I want you inside me, filling me up, and making me scream your name." Her words aroused him even further, that was the closest she came to talking dirty to him and it was a huge turn on.

"Please baby," he panted as she stroked him.

"Please what?" She didn't need to ask, but she liked making him beg, even if just a little. He brought out her inner seductress and rewarded her every time.

"I need to be in you, please, I need you now," he grit through clenched teeth, grasping her hips firmly and positioning her over him. She slowly lowered her hips to his, taking him in slowly to accommodate his girth. The water in the tub swirled around their joined bodies and sloshed out onto the marble floor tiles when she rolled her hips against his.

"God, Damon," she muttered breathily. Feeling particularly brave, she took his hand and guided it to the apex of her thighs. He growled in the back of his throat at the boldness of her insinuation and brushed his thumb over her sensitive bundle of nerves. He allowed her to set their rhythm and thrust his hips in time with hers.

"I'm… fuck, I'm close," he moaned when she dug her nails into the flexed muscles of his shoulders, leaving little half moon depressions in his skin. "I want to cum with you."

"Almost," she mustered and dropped her forehead against his shoulder to ease her dizziness.

"Kiss me, baby," he demanded. When their lips met his thumb circled her swollen bud again and he swallowed her cries of ecstasy. He could feel his stomach tighten in anticipation of release and he wrapped her in a crushing embrace, pulling her as close to him as possible and driving deeper into her. Her lithe frame trembled violently and she kissed him with even more gusto as she crested, screaming his name. The tight clutch of her muscles around him sent him swiftly over the edge.

His arms slackened slightly when she fell limp against his chest. Elena's shoulders shook slightly and he wasn't sure if it was an after shock from her orgasm or shivering from the now-tepid bath water. When Damon heard her snort quietly, he knew she was laughing.

"What's so funny?" he asked.

"We made a _huge_ mess," she giggled, looking at the puddles on the floor. She straightened her arms and rested them over his shoulders, looking deeply into his eyes. "I'm glad you're home."

"Me too."

"I'm going to get out, ok?" she smiled shyly, almost forgetting that they were still joined. She shifted slightly to get out of his lap and he felt himself harden again within her; she must have felt it to because she stopped moving and drew in a harsh breath. His sparkling blue eyes met hers and he flashed her a devilish smile.

"We're not finished yet."

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**A/N: *nervous twitches* I hope that was ok friends? Like I said, this was a hard chapter to get through so I hope it's up to snuff :) I'm already hard at work on the next update because all of your reviews, follows, and favorites are so inspiring. Much love all around!**

**XOXO ~Anna**


	14. Chapter 14: Blinding

_Hallo friends! Back with a new update, a bit shorter than usual :) Warning- it's kind of angsty (plot twist!) so be prepared! Do you think we can get to 200 reviews with this chapter? *wink wink* I'm trying to decide where to go next so let me know in your reviews if you'd rather take a right towards Fluffington or a left towards Angstville... most votes wins. Don't worry either way will still take us to Happy Ending :D _

_VampireGleek77- Thank you for the review! Emotional roller coaster on this one, but I hope you like it :)_

_vikkidillard- Thank you so much! I hope you enjoy the update :D_

_damonash- Thanks mucho :) I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter, I hope this one doesn't disappoint!_

_Guest- Thank you for reading! Passing the e-tissues to you :)_

_Alice- Thanks a million! I hope you like the update ;)_

_CharlSmith- Thank you :) I hope the new chapter measures up!_

_ash512forever- Thank you thank you :)_

_Guest (2)- Thank you for reviewing friend, I really appreciate it :D_

_Miss-Tyk- Thank you for your comments. Is he?... be sure to vote at the end ;)_

_yougottenintomybloodstream- Thank you for R & R! I thought it be funny to welcome Damon back with some good old-fashioned Stefan joshing ;)_

_Guest (3)- Thank you! One vote for baby ;)_

_scarlett2112- Thank you Carol, two votes for baby! Thanks again for you input too, I'm pondering a rewrite of the last chapter to incorporate your info and make it more accurate :)_

_Claire- I hope your jaw is feeling better! I love your story, I giggled in a totally supportive way ;)_

_Abgypig84- Thank you for reading and commenting! No Steroline in this chapter, but we'll see them come back next chapter ;)_

_Guest (4)- Thank you for your kind words! I hope you enjoy the update :)_

_Cherriesandapples- Merci beaucoup! A little delay for this update, but I hope you like it :D_

_DEandMEthreeway- Can I just say that this is one of my fav comments ever. Hehe :)_

_kaybaby1127- Thank you for reviewing! Kinda bent the rules on what constitutes "strenuous" ;) I hope you like the update!_

_DISCLAIMER: I do not own The Vampire Diaries, the characters, or their likenesses. No copyright infringement intended._

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Damon was assaulted with two thoughts before he even opened his eyes: _how much did I drink last night_ and _what in hell possessed me to bring a woman home_? With all but the slightest shift in position he felt like there were little marbles rolling around in his skull and a dull, aching throb had seeped into every bone in his body while he had been asleep. He figured that he must have had an historic evening to be this hung over and to have willingly invited a woman into the sanctuary of his bedroom; he wished he could remember something about her because she must have been pretty spectacular. When he finally did open his eyes the sunlight coming through the window did him no favors where his hangover was concerned, but he did get a brief appraisal of the lovely chestnut-haired woman asleep on his chest. _Thank god, _he thought before closing his eyes and falling back against his pillow, _it's just Elena_. He probably called her in a drunken emotional fit and, being the sweetheart she was, she must have come to his rescue late last night as usual. They normally ended up at her place crowded like sardines in her full size bed, but he didn't think much of it—it was nice sleeping next to her either way and his bed was much bigger and more comfortable. In spite if his head screaming at him to go back to sleep, he busied his fingers in her long hair, combing out the small tangles at the ends. She made a contented purring noise and stretched her arm over his torso, pulling her body closer to his. That alone was enough to make him forget about his aches and pains and he wrapped his arms around her petite naked frame and held her tightly. _Wait… naked?_ He ran his hand down her bare back and his stomach rolled violently. He wildly hoped that his nocturnal escapades hadn't involved sleeping with his best friend but all signs were pointing to yes.

"Good morning," Elena said with a sleepy smile. She had her arms crossed over his chest and her chin perched on her hands. God knows he had imagined this a thousand times, wanted this a thousand times, but the thought of not even being able to remember his first night with the woman he'd been in love with for almost his entire life had him feeling sick. He'd only ever wanted to love her, just once even, and now he couldn't remember it… this was cosmic cruelty in the extreme.

"Hey," he said shortly and closed his eyes again, hoping this was just another dream. "How are you feeling?" she asked sweetly, wiggling her toes against his shin.

"Fine, a little hung over maybe, but fine," he answered, hoping to spur her on into recounting the tale of whatever happened last night.

"It's just me, Damon. If your head hurts, you can tell me," she offered and ran her fingers along his jaw line.

"It's not bad," he insisted, trying to memorize the feel of her fingers on his skin because she probably would never touch him again once she found out that he blacked out the night before. "Do you have to work today?"

"No silly," she giggled, "I still have another week off, remember?"

"Oh… yeah, that's right," he pretended to understand but he was even more confused. "Did you need to be home for anything or do I get you for the whole day?"

"Home?" she asked and sat up, pulling her knees to her chest and holding the blanket close to her. Shades of confusion, fear, and worry flitted over her features so quickly that he couldn't separate them from one another. "What are you talking about?"

"I didn't know if your parents were expecting you back at a certain time or if you had plans or anything. Not that I'm complaining."

"Damon," she murmured and looked him right in the eye. Her brown eyes were filling with tears and heartbreak and he wondered what he had said wrong. "What is the last thing that you remember?"

"I don't know," he answered and sat up, leaning against his headboard. As if under its own control his hand shot out and tenderly brushed the tears from her face. "Why? Why are you looking at me like that? Did I say something wrong?"

"My parents are dead, Damon."

"What?" he tried to ask through his empty lungs. It couldn't be possible; he had just seen Grayson and Miranda a couple of days ago, hadn't he? "What happened? When?"

"Seven months ago in a car accident at the Wickery Bridge. You were at the hospital with me. You brought me home and painted that crazy velociraptor on my cast when I was asleep on the couch."

"Right," he nodded, "I remember. I'm sorry, I'm just a little out of it, I guess." Since she mentioned it, he did seem to remember something about a hospital and a cast… maybe. She knew he was just trying to appease her, he'd never be so cruel as to make a joke at the expense of her parents' memory; but if he couldn't remember the accident he probably couldn't remember anything that had happened since then.

"Damon, look at me," she held his face gently, but still it was enough for him to wince in pain. "Where were you yesterday?"

"Home, I… I don't really remember."

"Do you know who I am?"

"Of course I know who you are Elena," he rolled his eyes at the ridiculousness of her question. You don't just up and forget the one person you love more than life itself overnight.

"But do you know who I am _now_? What's my last name?"

"Gilbert," he offered hesitantly, not knowing what else it could be. Elena didn't often buy into theatrics, so something must have really been wrong for her to be acting this way. "What's going on Elena? Why do you keep looking at me like that? What did I do last night?"

She just shook her head and another tear traveled in its predecessors' tracks down her pink cheek. "It's Salvatore," she whispered. That left Damon with two viable options: he either just slept with his adopted sister or just slept with his brother's wife. Neither choice was particularly attractive so he decided this was just a dream and in a few hours he'd wake up alone in his bed with everything back to normal. "I'm going to call Dr. Fell." Elena sniffled and slipped out of bed, pulling on one of his t-shirts that was nearby and a pair of flannel pajama pants.

"Who is Dr. Fell?" he asked, slightly panicked at the realness of the dream.

"Damon," she sighed and sat back down on the bed, taking his hands in hers and kissing his knuckles. "We have a lot to talk about, but I need to figure some things out first ok? Just go back to sleep and I'll be back in a few minutes."

He tried to close his eyes and go back to sleep so he could wake up from his bizarre _Twilight Zone_ of a dream, but every time he did he just saw the hurt in Elena's eyes when she looked at him. Ignoring the protest of every cell in his body he pulled himself out of bed and got dressed as quickly as he could. He drug a nervous hand through his hair out of force of habit but something caught onto his finger and yanked his scalp painfully. When he pulled his hand back to assess the damage he wasn't sure what was more unsettling, the fresh blood smeared across his fingers or the silver band he was wearing.

"Elena!" he shouted, too stunned to go find her. "Elena!"

"What? What's wrong?" she asked, flying back into the room. She saw the blood on his hand and instantly ducked behind him. "You fussed with your staples again. I think you've pulled one out but it doesn't look that bad."

"Shit," he yelped, "what are you doing?"

"Stop squirming, I'm trying to take the rest of the staple out so you don't catch it on something and tear open your whole incision," Elena grit between clenched teeth, she hated blood and having her husband-who-didn't-know-he-was-her-husband's blood on her hands was almost too much to handle before breakfast.

"Why do I have staples in my head?" he demanded, grabbing her roughly by the shoulders and pulling her in front of him.

"Damon—" she started delicately, looking at the floor tiles beneath their feet.

"Elena, my head hurts like hell and all I want to do is go back to sleep so don't bullshit me, why do I have staples in my head and why am I wearing this?" he pointed to his ring, "and why are you waking up naked in my bed? None of this makes any sense and I am freaking the fuck out right now, so just tell me the truth."

"Damon, calm down," she attempted again.

"Dammit Elena," he said, releasing his grip on her shoulders and pacing the bathroom. "I'm losing it, alright? I can't remember a single thing that happened last night and you're telling me to _calm down_." He ran his hands through his hair again, only to pull at the staple Elena was trying to pull out. He hissed in pain and threw his fist against the bathroom wall.

"Knock it off Damon," Elena yelled at him, "do you want a broken hand to match your head?"

"I want you to tell me what the hell is going on," he growled and backed her up menacingly against the sink. "Tell me the truth Elena, or get out."

"Don't try to intimidate me, Damon," she retorted and wiggled out from between him and the sink counter. "I'll tell you everything, but not like this. You need to calm down first."

"Get out," he said quietly, but just loud enough for her to hear him. She didn't budge and just stared back at him with silent anger.

"No. I'm not leaving you alone like this."

"Elena. Get. Out." He snarled, his knuckles turning white from his grip on the counter. With each passing second he was losing control and slipping out of a reality he no longer understood. "You need to leave. Now."

"Stop!" She demanded and grabbed his wrist, prying his hand from the sink and bringing it to her chest just above her heart. He tried to jerk his hand away but she wouldn't let go. "This isn't you Damon. I didn't marry this man, so just stop. You need to calm down or I am going to force a sedative down your throat, do you understand me?"

"You married me?" my mumbled, looking at their hands joined over her chest and the matching rings they both wore.

"Yes. You're my husband and I love you. I know you're confused and frustrated right now. I am going to explain everything to you and we're going to fix this, but you need to just take a deep breath and calm down. You can't get yourself worked up right now, you're still healing, alright?"

"What happened to me Elena?" he asked in a broken whisper. She almost didn't recognize the blue eyes that were looking back at her; they were so scared and vulnerable that she wanted to cry for him and cry with him. The last time she had seen that look was the day that he buried his mother.

_Flashback_

"Stefan ate and went to bed," Elena sighed and put an empty plate on the counter of the Salvatore kitchen. She and her mom were tending to things at the boarding house while Grayson was helping Giuseppe but the final touches on Elsbeth's funeral. "Jeremy invited him over to our house to play Halo tomorrow after the cemetery."

"That'll be good for him," Miranda replied. Elena got another spatula and helped her mom scoop mountains of lasagna and comfort casseroles into plastic storage containers bound for the freezer.

"They're never going to eat all of this," she commented drily.

"Three men? Honey, you'd be surprised," Miranda smiled at her daughter. Losing her best friend had been difficult, but she couldn't imagine what Peppe and the boys were going through, she was just happy that her family was close by the help wherever needed. "You and Damon can take whatever is left with you when you go back to school."

"Yeah, because I'm sure he'll be stoked about eating sorry-about-your-mom casseroles all semester," Elena grumbled sarcastically.

"Elena," Miranda warned gently knowing that her daughter was tired and worn thin tending to the eldest Salvatore brother, "try to be sensitive sweetheart."

"I'm trying Mom, really hard, but he's not eating and god knows when the last time he slept was. He hasn't said three words all day long and it's like two degrees and he's still sitting out there in the garden staring off into space." To say that Elena was frustrated with Damon was an understatement, she had tried everything to get him to eat or take a nap. She was worried he was going to get himself sick and she just wished he'd let her take care of him a little for once.

"He just needs some time to himself," Miranda shrugged and began stacking containers in the massive stainless steel freezer.

"Stefan eats and sleeps and talks to people," Elena countered, handing her mom more containers. "And he's not currently risking imminent hypothermia to get some alone time."

"Well Stefan has a little easier time expressing himself. Damon doesn't have any way to deal with his feelings, but he's trying."

"Captain Bigmouth has a hard time expressing himself? That's a first," Elena scoffed.

"You know what I mean," Miranda rolled her eyes. It was incredible how similar Elsie's oldest child and her youngest child were. "This is the first time he's ever had to deal with something like this."

"What am I supposed to do, just let him starve to death?"

"He's not going to starve to death, I promise you. Why don't you just go sit with him for a little while?" Miranda suggested.

"He's just going to ignore me again," Elena shook her head. She tried that earlier, she packed a picnic basket and took an elaborate lunch out to Damon and all he said was "hey" and "no thanks."

"Sweetheart," Miranda said, taking the last of the containers out of Elena's hands. "Go sit with him, I'll finish up in here."

"Fine," Elena groaned and pulled her coat on. She grabbed a pastry and a blanket on her way out the door. In case Damon refused to come inside again she could at least sleep a little easier knowing he had something warmer than his suit jacket and something to boost him blood sugar.

The full moon cast enough light on the yard so Elena could pick her way between the rose plants without falling or getting caught on the thorns. She found Damon exactly where she expected to, sitting on the gentle grassy slope near the back of the yard that descended into the woods below. She used to like sitting there when they lived in Mystic Falls because it provided a full panoramic view of the town, the quarry, and the falls below.

"You're going to ruin your suit," Elena commented lightly.

"I have another one for tomorrow," Damon replied vacantly. She fought the urge to slap him in the back of the head and instead sat down next to him with her legs crossed and the blanket on her lap.

"Aren't you cold?" she asked when she could see her own breath in the air.

"Not really."

"I brought you a blanket and a cheese Danish. Well, half a cheese Danish because I'm pretty hungry too," she added, breaking the pastry in half and taking a huge bite of her share. She offered him the other half and he just shook his head in refusal.

"No thanks, I'm not hungry."

"Damon," she sing songed with her mouth full, "you're making me feel fat."

"You're not fat Elena," he rolled his eyes.

"I'm going to force feed you foie gras style if you don't eat, and we all know how _that_ goes." And did they ever, in her sophomore year of high school Elena learned how the delicacy was produced and went on a one-woman campaign to ban it from all Founder's events; an ends achieved by strategic placement of graphic representations of force-fed geese around town. In the end, she won and was declared Mystic Falls' official poultry goodwill ambassador.

"I'm not hungry," he insisted, his face never changing emotions just staring stonily into the woods.

"Alright, that's your prerogative" Elena said and popped the rest of her Danish into her mouth in one piece. She got on her knees and got right in front of him waving the pastry at him. "Last chance to go willingly," she offered.

"I'm not hungry."

"Okay, don't say I didn't warn you." She narrowed her eyes at him before wrestling him to the ground. At first he didn't even try to fight against her but when she wrapped her tiny hand around his jaw to force his mouth open he tried to roll her off of him.

"What are you doing woman?"

"Gavage feeding you, what does it look like?" she replied with a devious smile. "I'm not going to let you starve to death and get stuck paying all the rent myself."

"I'm not starving," he said stubbornly, turning his head to avoid her.

"Yes you are, you're so malnourished you can't even fight me off. I'm totally dominating you right now Damon," she giggled. She loosened her grip for a fraction of a second to gloat and Damon switched their positions, pinning her to the damp grass.

"If you want to dominate me, all you have to do is ask," he smirked.

"I knew he was in there somewhere," she smiled and rubbed her sticky pastry covered hands across his face.

"Did you steal a Danish just to smash it in my face?" he asked, looking down on her with a forced annoyance. But he couldn't hold in his laugh when she slowly held her pastry-glazed hands up between them.

"Sticky fingers," she smirked and chuckled heartily at her own joke. He bit one of her fingers playfully. "Ouch, did you just bite me?"

"You just tried to stick your hand down my throat."

"Fine, we're even."

"I didn't say we were even," he said with a mischievously glint in his eyes. She raised a questioning eyebrow at him and he nuzzled her neck, getting her as sticky and messy as possible.

"Damon!" she squealed and kicked her legs wildly. "That's disgusting!"

"_Now_, we're even," he smiled, satisfied with his work.

"Get off of me. My dress is getting grass stains on it," she whined and he sat back on his heels, puling her off the ground and helping her dust off her black dress.

They both sat back on the grass next to close to each other. Elena inched closer to Damon to rest her head on his shoulder. She knew that he'd put his arm around her and kiss the top of her head and she sighed when he did exactly that, glad to know that she hadn't lost him.

"Would your parents freak if you stayed here tonight?" he asked almost shyly.

"No, I still have some of my stuff in the guest room downstairs." She assumed she'd be staying anyways since everyone would start to filter in early in the morning for the funeral and she didn't want Damon to have to greet guests alone.

"We can stay in my room."

"Ok," she stood up and held out her hand to him. "Let's go."

_Present_

"Ok," Elena said seriously listening intently to whoever was on the other end of the phone line. "Ok, I understand. Thank you for calling back. Bye."

"Who was that?" Damon asked, sitting miserably at the kitchen table with his head in his hands. Elena had explained to him everything that happened in the period of time that he forgot. He was staring at the picture on his phone of her signing their marriage license at the courthouse hoping it would jog his memory.

"That was Dr. Fell with some hopefully good news," Elena said with a genuine smile and she slid into the seat next to him. "She said it could be something called transient global amnesia which isn't permanent and goes away in about eight hours, less in some cases."

"Could be?" he asked, knowing that a magic fix seemed too good to be true.

"Or it could not be and if that's the case we'll deal with it as it comes, ok?" she pulled his hand away from his face when he didn't respond. "Ok? We'll get through this."

"Why do you even want to?" he snapped, "what if it's not the same anymore?"

"Don't talk like that. I love you, Damon, and I'm going to be here with you no matter what. We're just going to have to wait it out and see what happens, but we'll survive. We always do."

"Yeah, I guess. I'm just going to go watch TV or something," he muttered and lumbered to the parlor. He flopped onto the sofa and flipped absent-mindedly through the channels. Elena gave him two minutes to wallow before she knelt down in front of him and took the remote from his hand.

"What—?" he began.

"Shut up," she smiled and pressed her lips to his. His hands seemed to remember exactly what to do and tangled themselves in her hair. Her tongue demanded entrance to his mouth and danced with his. Something about kissing her felt familiar but he couldn't remember having kissed her like that before. She pulled away entirely too soon for his liking.

"Everything is going to be ok," she smiled and handed him back the remote before retreating from the parlor. When she was sure he wasn't following her she headed directly to the guest bathroom in the wing of the house that was farthest away from the parlor and locked the handle behind her. She fell back against the door and slid to the floor. Her shoulders shook with the tears she'd been saving for this moment. Despite her promise to Damon that everything would work out she wasn't entirely sure; she still loved him with everything she had but she was scared that he wouldn't remember how much he loved her.

She felt like she was losing him and she couldn't do anything but watch and wait.

* * *

**A/N: Awww, sorry guys, now I'm kind of sad too ;( So what do you think... more drama or fluffy marshmallows? Vote in that pretty box, right down there :)**

**XOXO ~Anna**


	15. Chapter 15: Between Two Lungs

_Hello friends! WHOA! I am so overwhelmed with the insanely beautiful feedback from the last chapter, you guys swoon me! For this chapter I have decided it's probably best to reply to each one of your reviews via PM instead of in the author's note because it would be miles long, so you'll be hearing my eternal gratitude within the next few days :D Back with a toasty update fresh from the writing oven. It's kind of a short one, but pretty important to the story line- the next installment will be longer (normal length). I hope you enjoy it, let me know what you think!_

_Thanks for R&R: VampireGleek77, gailechu, KellyJo93, bellax0xchristina, damonash, Debbie1689, Guest (1), SWEETDREAMS25, ash512forever, noobishere, vikkidillard, campfiresongs, myosh, CharlSmith, Jazzmie01, scarlett2112, FineFreshFierce585, DEandMEthreeway, Abgypig84, Guest (2), Jennie, Guest (3), jazzandbourbon, jozac, 4evrMrsAcklesSomerhalderWesl ey, Cherriesandapples, sweetliar327, liapervincia, vivianafrancesca, Guest (4), Guest (5), LoveLuLu, 1864impala, delenadreamer, YAZMIN V, kaybaby1127, elena prada... I'll be PMing you all soon, thank you so much for your feedback, virtual red velvet cupcakes all the way around! _

_DISCLAIMER: I do not own The Vampire Diaries, the characters, or their likenesses. No copyright infringement intended._

* * *

"We could always just stay home, we don't have to go tomorrow if you don't want to," Elena offered when she saw Damon lying across the bed staring blankly at the rafters in the ceiling. They'd been planning on attending the Duke vs. NC State lacrosse game in Raleigh like they did every year since Damon graduated, but they were going to make a romantic weekend out of it this year. He didn't remember the bed and breakfast reservations he had made as a Christmas present for Elena, but Caroline reminded him as subtly as she knew how; which is to say she stuck a giant hot pink post-it note on his phone… and his desk… and the windshield of his car.

"I want to," he insisted and pulled himself up to help her finish packing and get ready for bed. She was in front of the bathroom mirror trying to take off her necklace and growling quietly in frustration. He took the tiny clasp from her fingers and unfastened the chain, trying to ignore the sparks that raced up his arm when his knuckles brush against her neck. "That's pretty," he commented about the elegant white gold 'E' pendant that dangled from the silver chain and reflected little flames of light from a row of small diamonds nestled in one of the letter's curves.

"Thank you," she grinned turning towards him and putting her arms around his neck. "You gave it to me for my birthday."

"Of course I did, I have impeccable taste," he smiled back and hesitantly put his hands on her hips.

"You don't have to be shy with me," she reminded him. She missed his perpetually roaming hands and the way he had touched her just to be closer to her.

"I know, it's just a lot to take in. I almost can't believe it's real," he said with a humorless chuckle. "Were you happy with me?" he muttered. It had been five days and he hadn't even had the faintest glimmer of memory return to him. He had tried everything Dr. Fell suggested, from looking at pictures, to visiting familiar places, to trying to recreate important situations but all to no avail. Some things had begun to feel familiar to him, but he couldn't know where the familiarity came from.

"I _am_ incandescently happy with you, Damon," she emphasized and looked into his eyes but he wouldn't meet her gaze. "I love you and I meant it when I said 'for better or worse.' You're pretty much stuck with me now."

"I can think of much worse fates than being stuck with a beautiful wife," his tried to smile but the expression quickly melted into the contemplative frown he'd been wearing for too frequently for Elena's preference. _Love_. She loved him and at the end of the day, that's all he had ever truly desired and perhaps all he ever really needed. He wished with everything in him that hearing those three words so freely from her would make him happy; but he was terrified, _love _put so much more on the line than friendship did. _Love_ was could move mountains, but it could also grind them into gravel. "Is it going to be enough? What if I never get my memory back?"

"You will always be enough for me, Damon. And if you don't get your memories back then we'll make new ones, starting with this weekend. We'll work it out, ok?" she promised once again with a comforting hand on his cheek, just as she had dozens of times over the past three days. He nodded tersely and dropped his eyes away from her lest she see the doubt and skepticism that engulfed them. "Let me see how you're healing?"

He obediently turned around and sat on the edge of the tub so that Elena could clean his incision. She went about her work with a small, serene smile on her face and tended to his wound with such tenderness that it nearly broke his heart. The Elena he remembered was a girl; she was vulnerable, timid, and unsure of herself. The Elena who sat with him now had grown into a strong and confident woman. He still caught glimpses of the girl who giggled at his jokes and blushed when he said something inappropriate, and he liked it, but there was something about the Woman Elena that nearly brought him to his knees. She was Athena reborn, doing battle with one hand and stoking the hearth with the other. She was all fierce moxie and silent grace as she collected the pieces of his life—_their_ life—and tried to cobble them back together. The resolve that shimmered in her brown eyes and the soft determination in the lithe contour of her shoulders as she worked was enough to make him believe that things would work out. If there was any possible way that he could survive his situation, he was certain it began and ended with Elena.

"All done," she said softly and pressed a gentle kiss to the back of his neck, which had his skin prickling and tingling. He braced himself for what would come next: the light-headedness, sweaty palms, and uncomfortable trousers. Even if his mind didn't remember things clearly, his body never forgot how to react to her touch and she made him feel things he never had, or at least he didn't ever remember feeling. _Love._ "Ready for bed?"

"Yeah, if you're done being nurse for the night," he answered. It made Elena feel a little better that he was at least trying out his special brand of sarcasm again; it was one of those things that she didn't think she would ever miss, but without it Damon just wasn't _Damon_. She had never encountered anything in her short life that was as painful as seeing Damon broken.

"I can still be your nurse if you want," she whispered seductively in his ear and sauntered back to the bedroom, flipping her hair over her shoulder. He stared after her awe-struck that Elena would say something like that, he could add poised sexuality to the rapidly growing list of things he was falling in love with all over again. Ordinarily, he would have raced her to the bed but he was glued to his spot on the tub. If anyone had told him that a simple flick of chestnut hair would turn him into a nervous adolescent, obsessing over not knowing how to please a woman, he would have laughed but finding himself in that position at that moment, he didn't see the humor in it at all. He no longer knew what Elena liked and what she didn't like, he assumed that he once had a very detailed mental map of her body, but if he went to bed with her now it would be like their first time all over again. From what Elena briefly mentioned about their relationship he could deduce that their love-making had been white hot before everything happened, and as much as he hated to admit it he was anxious about leaving her unsatisfied and disappointed.

"Damon," she sang invitingly from the bedroom and his body jumped forward of its own volition and followed her sweet siren voice to his proverbial rocks of ruin. She was draped across the covers on her stomach with her chin in one hand and the other one twisting a lock of hair around her finger. "There you are," she said and lavished her best _come hither_ simper on him.

Damon moved closer to the bed and tried his best to commit the image of Elena sprawled out on his bed to his recently-wiped memory. If this had ever happened before he couldn't believe that he was unable to remember it; her coy little smile and the pink flush across the tops of her breasts but his wildest fantasies of her to shame. She pushed herself up onto her knees and he got a full view of the matching crimson lingerie set she was wearing. Something in his brain flickered with a feeling of familiarity at the sight but it fizzled out as quickly as it came on.

"This isn't what you usually sleep in," Damon said with a lop-sided smile as he openly stared at her. "Not that I'm really missing the flannel and tank tops at the moment."

"I picked it out for our wedding night," she purred and crawled closer to the edge of the bed where he was standing. "You loved it."

"Still do," he murmured and reached out to tentatively run his fingers along the small rhinestones dotting the straps of the bra. Her eyes fluttered closed as his warm fingertips grazed her collarbone. He drew his hands away and cleared his throat subtly, Elena could tell he was nervous and before he allowed himself to walk away she fisted her hand in his t-shirt and pulled him onto the bed with her. Just as his back hit the mattress she locked their lips in a passionate kiss. Her heart sank when he didn't kiss her back right away and the tendrils of doubt began to creep in from the periphery… maybe she had lost him. She tried to pull move from him before he could the tears in her eyes but he tunneled his fingers in her hair and pulled her down on top of him, kissing her with bruising urgency and desperation. With one swift motion he had their positions switched and pressed the hard lines of his body against her soft curves. He greedily swallowed her whimpers and mewls as his hands explored her skin. He was everywhere all at once, determined to re-learn how her body responded to his touch: what made her shiver and quake and bow beneath his fingers, how to kiss her to coax breathy sighs from her lips, and the exact amount of pressure it took to drive her fingernails into his shoulders.

"Damon," she gasped and arched her hips upwards to his drawing a primal rumble from the back of his throat. "I missed you so much."

"I can't Lena," he murmured against her heated skin and continued kissing her neck, despite his weak protestation. He flattened his palms against the rich brocade of her bra and rubbed her breasts as he ground his arousal against her core. Her hands were already at work on his t-shirt, inching it up slowly and re-acquainting themselves with the corded muscles of his back.

"Just be with me, Damon, please," Elena nearly begged, pulling off his shirt and tossing it to the floor before tugging at the buckle of his belt. "I need you."

"It's too soon," he argued vainly as he scraped his teeth gently along her collarbone. His hands danced around her sides and lifted her back off of the mattress just enough to unfasten the clasps of her bra. He tugged the garment down her arms and sent it to join his shirt before worshiping her bosom with his lips, and teeth, and tongue; coiling her tighter and tighter beneath him. His errant hand nearly robbed her of her ability to speak when it dipped below the seam of her panties and caressed her molten heat.

"Damon," she moaned and tugged at his hair, "make love to me, please?" _Love_, there it was again. Men don't screw around with their wives, and one certainly doesn't fuck the epic love of one's life. _Love_. He'd given up screwing and fucking the moment he put his ring on her finger. _Love, love, love._ He loved her, had always loved her, and he knew she loved him, which should have been enough to stamp out the trepidation gnawing at the corners of his conscious; but he wanted to be able to tell her how much he loved her before consummating it; to tell her that he loved her with every last atom of his being and that she was his sun and moon and the very orbit that kept him grounded. "Please?" she whimpered again, more desperately this time, dousing his moment of panic with renewed passion. He shucked off his jeans as she squirmed under the covers and held them up for him to join her.

Her olive skin was already slick with a sheen of sweat. Damon watched her in wonder as he crawled over her body and she writhed in anticipation of his love. Their choreography was immaculate—her knees fell open to cradle his hips and his hands glided down her thighs to draw her legs around his waist. He wondered if this is how it always was, or if there were awkward fumbling couplings or graceless dashes to orgasm in their past. Perhaps they'd always been this beautiful and synchronous; perhaps that was the fundamental boundary between just-sex and love.

"Elena, I…" he struggled, wanting so badly to tell her how he felt before tacitly acknowledging his feelings by making love to her, but the words wouldn't come. Not yet.

"I know," she nodded with a bittersweet smile that made him wish he was as strong as her. "I know." Her small hand wandered between them and wrapped around him, directing him to where she wanted him; the simple touch was almost enough to end him over the edge and he groaned in near agony at his state of arousal. He kissed her roughly as he rocked his pelvis to inch into her tight core, drinking in her moans and cries. Despite his best effort to the contrary he was sure that in the morning she would be blue and purple where his fingers dug into her skin. When they were completely joined she rolled her hips, subtly asking him to move. The rhythm he set was slow, driving deeper into her with each thrust. Her hands clawed at the sheets but he pried them away and brought them to his shoulders, he wanted to possess every ounce of her passion and her pleasure. He wanted the marks of her love scrawled across his back and etched into his skin.

"What do you want, Elena?" he asked with a swift nip to the shell of her ear. She was already quivering against him but he wanted her climax. "How can I make you feel good?"

"Fast—," she panted and twisted his hair between her shaky fingers, "faster. Just don't stop." He obliged her and felt himself nearing the edge.

"I want you to cum," he demanded and jerked one of her knees over his shoulder. The change in angle had her keening his name and evaporating with pleasure. He thought he would last, but hearing her voice caress his name in ecstasy pushed him into oblivion and he collapsed on his back beside her.

Elena squeaked something unintelligible and wiggled over to him to settle with her head on his chest and her arm across his stomach. It was a _tableau vivant_ of the "first" day he had woken up with her in his bed, except this time he remembered every moment that led them to lying sated and breathless with each other. Her body shuddered periodically as she succumbed to the after shocks of her orgasm.

"I love how bendy you are," he chuckled and kissed the crown of her head. She giggled and dropped a small kiss to his chest. "That was incredible."

"It always is," she said with a yawn and nuzzled closer to him. "I love you, Damon," she mumbled as she drifted off to sleep. In that moment, something big came over him. It wasn't a distinct memory or a bright light. It was a feeling of familiarity that seeped through every cell warming him from the inside out and it was enough to make him believe what she said about things being ok. It was the feeling of being home.

Damon waited until he was sure beyond a reasonable doubt that Elena was sound asleep before he crept out of their bed and made his way to the living room. He pulled out a DVD Caroline had given him and loaded it into the player. The eternally-upbeat Ms. Forbes had compiled a "memory video" for him of all of the footage she and Stefan had of him and Elena. At first it was too painful, it was like watching someone else live out a life with the woman he loved. It hurt him to see her laugh and smile with him, knowing that it was likely that he would never remember those moments beyond watching the DVD. But, something changed for him that night. It was something monumental enough to convince him that love was enough and everything else was just window dressing. _Love_. As much as he _wanted_ it, he didn't _need_ their past, he just needed to learn to create a present and learn to accept her love as freely as she gave it. He pointed the remote at the DVD player and started the video from the beginning.

_ "Is it on?" Caroline asked whoever was holding the shaky camera. _

_ "Yeah, it's filming right now," Stefan answered._

_ "Alright, bring it in the living room for the toast," the blonde waved and his brother. "Make sure you film Elena and Damon. We need this for their wedding, of next wedding, I guess. Ok, ready?" she asked and rearranged a few of her bouncy curls over her shoulder._

_ "Action," Stefan said and followed Caroline through the kitchen door. The wider angle of the camera revealed his living full of light and laughter. Ric and Jenna were having what looked to be a lively conversation with Jeremy and Ric was laughter about something. Then Damon saw himself and Elena completely lost in each other on the sofa, he was whispering something in her ear and she was blushing. _

_"Champagne time!" Caroline announced and waved the camera over. "To Elena and Damon. You guys are so cute I want to punch you sometimes but I couldn't ask for a better guy for my best friend. When I produce the world's greatest chick flick based on the notes I've been keeping on you guys, I promise that you will get fair royalties." Damon couldn't help but chuckle at Caroline's toast, the girl was original, he had to give her that. Elena laughed beautifully at her best friend's toast and leaned into Damon's side, kissing him on the cheek._

_"Ok, give me the camera now," she demanded and grabbed it from Stefan's hand. "Alright Stefan, you have to say something to your brother."_

_ "Hey Damon," Stefan smiled, clearly a little buzzed. Good on Caroline for loosening him up. "A guy couldn't ask for a better sister-in-law than Elena, so… well done! And good choice on the cognac. Well done squared, brother."_

_ "I have no idea what's he talking about with the cognac, baby," Damon said slyly to Elena, who just rolled her eyes and laughed._

_ "Listen up party peeps!" Caroline shouted, shaking the camera violently. She was probably hopping to burn off some of the energy she seemed to acquire when she sat still for too long. "Messages for the newlyweds! Jenna, you next!"_

_ "Oh wait, I have to fix my hair," Jenna said with a giggle and pulled her fingers through her hair a few times. "Ok, to my niece and brand new nephew_

_ "And to my almost-niece and brand new nephew," Ric laughed loudly. "That's really all that Uncle Ric has for now, nephew Damon."_

_ "Oh god," Jenna grimaced. "We all have to branch out, the Mystic Falls marriage web is getting weird."_

_ "Jer Bear," Caroline called the next in line. "Give us something epic!"_

_ "To my sister," Jeremy said tilting his champagne flute, "and Damon, the guy we all knew she was going to marry someday."_

_ "Huzzah!" Stefan shouted. "Everyone except the blind newlyweds!"_

_ "Huzzah!" Ric replied and clinked glasses with the younger Salvatore._

_ "And now to the guests of honor," Caroline announced and made her way over to Damon and Elena. "The newly minted Mr. and Mrs. Salvatore. Aren't they adorable? Let the historical record show that I did Elena's hair and make-up for their first date."_

_ "And picked out my dress," Elena reminded with a broad smile._

_ "And quite a dress it was," Damon grinned. "It looked just as good on the floor as it did on my beautiful wife here." His comment earned his a playful slap from Elena as a deep crimson flush spread across her cheeks._

_ "It's ok Elena, it's like the worst kept secret around here," Stefan snorted in the background. "Come on, you had sex in the closet."_

_ "Gross," Jeremy groaned. "Put that on the list of things a guy never needs to know about his little sister."_

_ "Ugh, boys, whatever" Caroline groaned. "Now say something sweet you big creep."_

_ "Something sweet?" Damon asked and pulled away from Elena slightly to hold her face in his hands. "Tonight is the best night of my life," he said honestly and melded his lips to Elena's in a passionate kiss that roused cheers from their friends._

Damon swiped the remote off of the coffee table and hit the "stop" button. Despite his attempt to change his outlook on the situation, he was unable to watch anymore. He said it himself, it was the best night of his life but he couldn't remember a single second of it. He scrubbed his palms over his face and hit the "back" button on the DVD player, hoping something would seem familiar this time around. He drew a long pull of bourbon from his crystal tumbler and focused on the TV.

Unbeknownst to him, Elena had been watching his from the doorway of the living room. She debated whether to join him, but she figured that he needed some time to himself to figure things out so she just watched him instead. His hair was standing on end in every direction as he continued to drag his hands through it. She hated him seeing him like, especially because he was usually so calm and collected. What cut her most deeply was the fact that there was nothing she could do to help him. She had to simply watch, wait, and hope for the best. Rather than risking exposure she decided to head back to bed and wait for him from the familiar comfort of their bedroom.

It wasn't too long after she wrapped herself up in the soft satin sheets that she felt the other side of the bed bow under his weight. He figured she was asleep so he didn't say anything, but instead wrapped his arms her waist and drew her close to his chest. Immediately she surrendered to his warm embrace and melted against him with a content sigh.

"I love you, baby," he whispered and ghosted his lips against her cheek. The tear the meandered down her cheek this time wasn't one of sadness, but of the most profound joy she'd ever known. She was getting her Damon back slowly but surely.

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**A/N: So what did you think? Kind of short and a little bittersweet but we're headed for acceptance :) I experimented with a little switch up in style, so let me know how you like it (or didn't like it). Have a fabulous week :D**

**XOXO ~Anna**


	16. Chapter 16: The Thread of the Thing

_Hello again dearest friends! I am SO SO SO sorry it has taken this long to update. I broke my arm (master of grace I am) and am still learning how to leftie type. That said, I will be (slowly) PMing everyone tonight about your awesome reviews for the last chapter. I hope you all like the update, we are finally back on the upswing again! Yay! Let me know what you think... reviews are love!_

_DISCLAIMER: I do not own _The Vampire Diaries_, the characters, or their likenesses. No copyright infringement intended. _

* * *

"I think we're in the will call line," Elena mumbled as she rummaged through her purse to find the confirmation receipt from her e-mail. Damon glanced around at the stadium he had spent so much of his college career in, it hadn't changed one bit since he'd been a student at Duke. The Duke vs. NC State lacrosse game still packed the bleachers and they'd even run across a few of his teammates on the walk in from the parking lot. The familiarity of the thing made him feel almost… normal. "Ah ha," Elena smiled and pulled out a crinkled piece of paper, "found it, I'll get our tickets."

Damon watched her as she happily bounced off to one of the many ticket lines, appreciating the re-appearance of his college lacrosse jersey on her slim frame. He had always loved the way his name and number looked across her back, even if he pretended to brush it off when his teammates made never-ending girlfriend comments whenever she came to their games. The thought that it was her own name on her shoulders, made him grin widely to himself, probably looking like a nut to anyone who walked by him at that moment. She'd been so patient with him for the past week. He wasn't deaf, he heard her crying in the shower when she thought he couldn't; he had noticed how short-tempered she had become with the other people around them, but when she was with him she was all patience and unwavering devotion. God, he loved her. He had been head over heels in love with her since he was eight years old. She was all he had ever wanted and now she was his; he wasn't sure how he felt about that fact before he forgot their life together but he hoped he had shown her how lucky he felt to be hers.

Elena looked over her shoulder to see Damon watching her with a broad smile and she smiled back, waving her fingers at him flirtatiously. Even from where she was standing she could see him throw her his patented "eye thing," that she loved so much. She giggled and shook her head at her husband's antics; she had missed his insistent flirting, the re-appearance of which made her feel like their life was getting back to normal bit by bit. There were moments that he had her worried that she'd never get him back but then there were moments, like this, when any worries of the sort just seemed absurd. It was small moments like this that kept her going and kept her believing that everything would be ok.

"Doth mine eyes deceive me?" an accented voice called from behind her, making her jump slightly, though she knew the source of the voice before she even turned around.

"No way," Elena grinned when she saw a familiar, handsome dark-haired man standing before her; he was a little older but there was no mistaking that cheeky grin. "Kol!"

"Elena Gilbert, you look as lovely as ever," he commented and pulled her into a warm, but friendly, hug. Damon flushed with jealousy at the idea of Kol touching his wife. He suppressed the urge to rip his arms off and knock him to the ground, but it was getting more and more difficult as he watched Elena throw her head back and laugh at whatever the man was saying. Two weeks ago he would have been more than confident in his ability to sweep Elena off of her feet, but now he wasn't so sure. Given the choice between an invalid amnesic husband in remission for a brain tumor and a handsome Aussie armed with what seemed like a hilarious set of jokes Damon felt like the decision would be obvious. He made the mistake of letting Kol get close to her before and he just got lucky that things between the two of them had fizzled out; he wasn't going to make the same mistake twice, not where Elena was involved.

"Salvatore now," Elena smiled and held up her hand to show off her new jewelry. Kol grabbed her hand gently to inspect her rings and nodded appreciatively as the antique diamonds caught the sunlight.

Kol said something that made Elena blush and Damon pushed himself off of the wall he was leaning against; Elena's blush was his and his alone and he wasn't going to stand by and let Kol take it. Kol was still holding Elena's hand when Damon walked up behind her, wrapped his arm around her waist, and kissed her soundly on the lips. He knew it was petty and juvenile and he felt a twinge of guilt for posturing over Elena like she was a fresh T-bone steak but he couldn't help himself; there was still lingering insecurity over the status of their relationship and Kol, with his sparkling smile, coming back into the picture was the last thing he wanted. He expected Elena to blush and pull away from him, much to his surprise she kissed him back with equal passion and placed a reassuring hand against his chest. It was as though she could read his mind.

"My goodness," Kol exclaimed and released Elena's hand, "those are exquisite, quite well done, Damon. And congratulations on your marriage." Kol held his own hand out to Damon, who shook it skeptically. _Marriage to MY wife, mine, not yours,_ he thought to himself.

"Thanks," Damon said shortly, and tightened his grip slightly on Elena. She giggled and pecked his cheek, snuggling deeper into his embrace as if to let him know that she still only had eyes for him, and the small gesture put him more at ease.

"So, Kol, are you in town for the game, too?" Elena asked, trying to diffuse the palpable tension between the two men. She'd always known that Kol brought out Damon's jealous side, even when they were "just friends" and roommates. She also knew that jealous Damon was volatile and more than a little unpredictable and today was supposed to be a fun day sans punching and police escorts.

"I am," he nodded and grinned charmingly. "Jamie and I've not been back since graduation and we figured it'd be a nice change from the bleary weather in Chicago."

"Still the same Jamie?" Elena asked, distinctly remembering Jamie as being the reason she and Kol stopped seeing each other. She asked more out of curiosity than anything, even back in college her heart belonged to Damon and Damon alone.

"The one and only," and just as he was about to say something a tall hazel-eyed man joined them. "Speak of the devil! Jamie, this is my dear friend Elena Salvatore, nee Gilbert, who I was telling you about and her husband, Damon. Old rivals me and this bloke, though I can attest to besting him more than a few times on the field," Kol smirked at Damon with a mischievous, but light-hearted, glint in his eyes. "Elena, Damon, this is my partner Jamie."

"Elena, it's a pleasure I've heard so much about you," Jamie said politely and shook her hand. "Damon, I finally get the chance to thank you personally."

"You're welcome?" Damon questioned, not knowing what on Earth either of the men would ever to thank _him_ for.

"I was working in the emergency room the night that Kol came in with a broken nose," Jamie smiled at Kol. "It was love at first sight." Elena glared at Damon who just shrugged his shoulders and kicked at a bit of gravel on the ground. It's not that he regretted punching Kol, in fact he was ready to do it again, but he was a little embarrassed about being called out on it in front of Elena.

"No hard feelings mate," Kol laughed and clapped Damon on his shoulder. "It all worked out in the end. So anyone up for a wager on this game?"

"How much do you want to lose?" Elena smiled and cocked her eyebrow. She wasn't much of a sports fan, but she did take Duke lacrosse and baseball seriously.

"Post-game pizza and beer?" Kol offered.

"You're on Mikaelson," Elena and shook hands to seal their wager.

_AYATM_

"Offside!" Elena shouted and turned back towards Damon, waving her arms wildly in the air. "How does this ref not see this?! There are like a million players past midfield!"

"Why don't you go school him on how to ref a game, baby?" Damon suggested with a smirk. Elena blew a loose strand of hair away from her face and plopped down on the bleacher seat next to him. She continued to watch the game with rapt attention, completely ignoring Damon, Kol, and Jamie who were talking about something to do with Chicago.

"What the fu—argh!" Elena shouted, jumping back up from her seat. "That was a textbook freaking foul! Do you even _have_ eyeballs?!"

"You really are serious about this wager, Elena?" Kol joked, noting that her dedication to the sport hadn't diminished since college and if anything she was an even more ardent fan now.

"I'm going to get a snack, I can't even witness this right now. Do you guys want anything?" Elena groaned. Both Kol and Jamie shook their heads, still smiling at her enthusiasm.

"Damon?" she asked, squeezing his shoulder gently.

"No, I'm good," Damon answered and watched her walk away. He didn't miss it when she tripped on a seam in the bleachers because she was watching the game instead of where she was walking. Luckily she caught herself before she met the metal floor of the seating pavilion. He'd be sure to remind her of that later, several times.

"Some things never change, huh?" Kol asked, bumping Damon with his elbow. He figured Kol was referring to Elena's clumsiness and he felt the same stirrings of jealousy he did earlier; her lack of grace seemed like a tiny matter but intimate at the same time, like it was something only he should know about her. "It was that very look right there that gave you away back in college, mate."

"There's no look," Damon countered, relieved that he didn't have to share Elena's stumble with someone else. He knew exactly the look that Kol was talking about, the look of complete adoration and longing. He looked at her like she was the world's most precious gem because to him, she was. He had never been the romantic type, but Elena had always melted him into a sappy puddle of emotion without fail. For a moment, he was a little embarrassed that he had been so obvious about it since he had always prided himself on being a sly observer.

"There's definitely a look," Jamie laughed, he'd only been around the couple for a couple of hours and he already knew there was a _look_. "No shame in that brother, you've got a beautiful wife who obviously adores you."

"So dating to engaged in less than twenty four hours, huh?" Kol asked casually.

"Yep," Damon nodded, hoping that Kol's questions wouldn't be too detailed. "Even though she tried her best to burn my house down."

"_Many_ things never change apparently," Kol barked in laughter and started filling Jamie in on some of Elena's more famous forays into accidental pyrotechnics.

"Holy shit!" Damon exclaimed and dropped his feet loudly onto the metal flooring of the bleachers, drawing Kol's story to an abrupt close as both men stared at him expecting an explanation for his outburst. He grabbed roughly at Kol's shoulder, shaking him slightly. "She was trying to make breakfast and put the eggs in the oven!"

"Novel approach…" Kol said warily, wondering what his excitement was all about.

"And the fucking smoke alarm! That's what I heard!" Damon jumped up from where he was sitting. "Be right back," he dismissed himself and dashed off in the direction that Elena had gone leaving a pair of very confused men in his wake.

Damon scanned the crowd for his wife and finally saw her casually strolling along the concourse looking for something to eat. She had her long brown hair pulled into a casual ponytail tied in a Duke blue ribbon. She would never admit it, and he honestly believed that she didn't even notice it, but even dressed casually with no make up on she drew admiring glances from the men, and some women, around her. As much as he wanted to put all of their eyes out he had a much more important agenda at the moment.

"Elena!" Damon shouted, slowing his run as he approached her. Her eyes were wide as she appraised him; he was so frantic she knew something must be wrong.

"What's wrong?" Elena asked, drawing her eyebrows nearer to each other. A million thoughts were racing through her head so quickly that she couldn't grasp onto a single one. "What happened?"

"The day I proposed, ask me something about it. Something you haven't told me," he demanded quickly, holding her shoulders to stand her squarely in front of him. She puffed her cheeks to exhale her trapped breath and looked down at the ground, not wanting to see the look on his face when she refused him. They'd been through this a few times in the past week when he thought he had remembered something only for it to turn out to be something that Elena or Stefan or Ric had told him. Every time it felt like going back to square one since he'd clam up and disappear into his study for a few hours to work out his disappointment; it just wasn't something she wanted to deal with at the moment.

"Da—," she started but he cut her off.

"Just ask me something," he prodded with his sapphire eyes brimming with so much hope that the notion of crushing it broke her heart. "Something simple that I would have remembered normally… well, old normally."

"Umm, ok," she thought carefully, catching her bottom lip between her teeth. "Hmm, ok, I got it. What did I make for breakfast?"

"Nothing. I made breakfast," he grinned broadly and stroked his thumbs across her jaw line. "You were _trying_ to make crepes and eggs, until you almost burned the kitchen down."

"I— that's…," she sighed in wonderment, her brown eyes welling up with tears. She was still a little bashful about her breakfast _faux pas_ and she knew for a fact that she hadn't shared that with him at all and Stefan hadn't stopped by until later so there was no way the younger Salvatore could have passed that along to his big brother. His face lit up at her reaction and he continued, hoping to keep the little spark of magic alive.

"You were standing on one of the barstools trying to turn off the smoke alarm with a spatula. And you were wearing your green flannel pj's and a black tank top. I remember what you were wearing underneath, too," he added with a quirk of his eyebrow, making Elena flush deep scarlet.

Without saying anything else she leapt into his arms and hugged him as tightly as she could. She allowed her tears to fall freely and buried her face in his shoulder. He held her tightly against him and tried to hide the few happy tears of his own that escaped. He gently sat her back on the ground and held her face in his hands.

"I remember it," Damon promised and rested his forehead against hers.

"How?" Elena asked through her tears.

"I don't know," he shook his head. "But I needed it. I want it all back." Before she could respond, he captured her lips in a hurried kiss. Perhaps someday he would know that it was much like the first kiss they shared as lovers, passionate and long overdue. For the first time since he lost his memories, it felt natural and felt like _them_ again.

"We're going to lose our seats," she smiled against his lips.

"Fuck it," he said and kissed her again.

"What about dinner?" she asked, still smiling.

"Fuck that, too," he dismissed. "Text Mikaelson that something came up, I'm taking you back to our room, now."

_AYATM_

"Did you have fun?" Elena asked as she took off her coat and threw it over the overstuffed armchair. The bed and breakfast was exactly as it was advertised, and while Elena loved the rustic Old World charm of their heavily decorated room, Damon had some slight misgivings about the lack of privacy.

"I did, did you?" he answered as he slid the chain lock onto the door and was behind her in an instant with his arms around her waist.

"Mhmm," she hummed and laced their fingers together over her stomach. "I miss watching you play though."

"It was the uniform wasn't it?" he joked and freed her hair from its ponytail so he could work his fingers through her smooth tresses.

"I kind of preferred your baseball one," she chuckled and leaned back against his chest, letting her head loll against his shoulder. "Few guys can pull off the knee-breeches like you could."

"I seem to distinctly remember you being much hotter in my uniform," he growled in her ear and spun her around into his arms. "I still have it at home, you know. And that _is_ a hint for later."

"Noted," she giggled and pulled him down for a kiss. He walked them to the bed and laid her down gently on the mattress before shedding his jacket and climbing over her. The springs complained loudly and the wrought iron bed frame grated against the antique floral wallpaper. Damon immediately thought of the elderly couple that checked in just behind them and was now lodged in the room next door. Every time they shifted the bed squeaked even louder.

"We're getting a regular hotel next time," he murmured as he nibbled the soft skin over her throat and his hands skimmed down her sides. "This damn bed is salting my game."

"I like bed and breakfasts," she argued and flipped their positions so she was perched on top of him. She gave him a sweet little smile and tugged at his belt buckle, wiggling suggestively against his lap.

"You know that's dangerous young lady," he scolded and yanked her down against him for a heated kiss. The protestation of the headboard against the wall drew pounding and yelling from their neighbors.

"Jealous old bat," Damon groaned and let his head fall back on the stack of lace doily pillows. He was worked up to the point of discomfort, but the thought of having a cranky audience while he made love to his wife did no favors for his libido. His head snapped back up when he felt Elena tugging at the laces of his boots and dropping her own shoes to the floor with a thud. "They're not going to stop bitching."

"So?" she shrugged and slid her hands up his legs to the button at the top of his jeans. He stilled her hands with his, not even believing the words that were about to come out of his mouth as Elena was trying to get his pants off.

"It's kind of a turn off," he mumbled, hoping she wouldn't get too angry about it. Elena gave him a mischievous grin and slid onto the floor, tugging Damon's hand to join her and he happily followed.

"Less noisy down here," she explained coyly.

"I like where you're head is at Mrs. Salvatore," he grinned and pounced on her, flattening her against the polished wood parquet. His skillful hands shucked his jersey from her body and tossed it over his shoulder, with his own t-shirt shortly following.

"Ah cold!" Elena hissed as her bare back came back into contact with the floor. Damon grabbed at the colorful quilt covering the bed and pulled it down around them.

"Anything else I can get you," he asked, brushing his lips softly against her ear.

"You," she sighed, trailing a hand down his chest to stroke the prominent bulge in his jeans. As much as it pained him to peel her hands off of him again, he did and kissed her palm reverently. There was one last important thing for him to do before they could fling themselves headlong into the passion that was threatening to consume them.

"I love you," he said earnestly and it felt good, like a weight being lifted from his shoulders. He didn't know why he couldn't say it before when he'd felt it all along.

"I love you, too," she beamed. "I love you so much." She kissed him and giggled girlishly against his lips. She threw hers arms around his neck and pulled him as closely as she possibly could, welcoming the reassurance that came with his weight blanketing her. He broke away from her lips to blaze a path of soft kisses down her neck, repeating those three simple, beautiful words again and again. He wanted her, and wanted her differently than he had the previous night. Then it had been about the primal physical response of his body to hers, and the way she moved and tempted him. Now, he wanted the connection and intimacy more than anything. He wanted to _love _her.

He pulled back to watch her face for any signs of reluctance, and when he did she gave him a warm, tender smile that wrapped itself tightly around his heart. His skilled fingers danced down her body to release the button and zipper of her jeans and he knelt back on his knees to pull them off of her. She watched him with undisguised admiration as he kissed the insides of both of her ankles and continued up her legs. When he reached the tops of her thighs he gently dropped her legs to rest back on the floor, freeing his hands to encircle her hips in a searing embrace. He kissed the damp fabric of her panties as he held tightly to her writhing hips. Despite her protestations he slowly hooked his fingers through the sides of her panties and dragged them down her long legs.

"Damon, please," she whined.

"Patience, Elena," he purred and kissed his way back up her legs again. When he reached the apex of her thighs he blew a gentle breath over her heated core, making her shiver in anticipation. He continued to kiss dangerously close to where she wanted him most, without giving her the pleasure she so desperately wanted. Without warning he closed his lips around her small aching bud and her hips jerked violently from the floor.

"Oh god!" she screamed and fisted her hands in the quilt. Her legs were quivering against his shoulders and he switched his technique just enough to stave off her impending orgasm. Taking advantage of her distraction he slipped one of his long fingers into her, crooking it to caress the sensitive spot deep within her walls, and making her come undone over his hands. He pulled away from her with a satisfied smirk and licked his hand clean of her sweet nectar.

He climbed up her quaking body with feline grace and kissed her lips hotly. Without breaking eye contact he slowly entered her. Her hips rose slightly to his, allowing them to join their bodies as deeply as possible. She whimpered softly and held onto him tightly as he moved. They were so lost within each other that she didn't even realize how loudly she had been screaming his name until their neighbors banged against the wall again. Damon grabbed at one of his discarded boots and threw it against their side of the wall to silence the complaints.

"I can't feel my legs," Elena panted after losing count of how many times he'd brought her to climax, "or anything really."

"Can't feel anything?" he smirked and rolled his hips against hers. He could feel her inner walls grasp tightly around him instantly.

"Damon," she moaned and dug her nails into his biceps. With her head thrown back the lithe line of her neck was on display and he couldn't help himself from licking her from her collarbone to her ear, savoring the faint saltiness of her skin.

"That's a no," he laughed and rocked into her again.

"I can't, Damon, I can't agai—oh god!"

"One more time, please," he begged as he continued to thrust his hips, knowing she was already close by the way her knees trembled against his hips. "I'm so close, baby."

She came undone one last time and he followed closely behind her, collapsing to the floor at her side.

"I want to snuggle but I can't move," she murmured with a small pout on her face. With the little strength he had left he pulled her flush against him and settled her head on his chest.

"I love you so much," he whispered and kissed the top of her head before drifting off to sleep.

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**A/N: What did you all think? I hope it wasn't too much of a disappointment after a ridiculously long wait. Share your thoughts. **

**XOXO ~Anna **


	17. Chapter 17: Mirrors

_Hi again friends! A fresh update straight from the update over :) Thank you so much for all of your amazing feedback and reviews, I appreciate it SO SO SO much. I think I answered just about everyone's reviews on PMs but I still have a few more to go so I haven't forgotten ;) I hope you like the new chapter... big developments happening... Enjoy!_

_Disclaimer: I do not own the Vampire Diaries. No Copyright infringement intended._

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_"It's just a cast, Damon," Elena whined as he carried her through the front door of her parents' house. "I'm not an invalid."_

_"The doctor said no walking, ergo… no walking," he shrugged and gingerly sat her down on the couch. He perched on the edge of the cushions and pulled the crocheted afghan from the back of the couch over her. She rolled her eyes and snuggled into the soft blanket. "I saw that. What do you want for dinner?"_

_"More ibuprofen," she groaned and shifted uncomfortably on the sofa cushions. He knew her leg must have been bothering her because she usually wasn't one to complain._

_"You gotta eat something sweetheart. I think there's some pot roast left," he offered. He figured anything would be a welcome change from the bland hospital food he'd been forcing down her throat for the past week. Despite his best efforts to tend to her, her cheeks had lost some of their fullness and healthy olive glow since the accident and he was starting to worry about her._

_She just shook her head and snuggled back into the pillow. Of course she wouldn't want to have the last of her mother's leftovers and Damon almost facepalmed himself for even suggesting it. _

_"How about something light, like soup?" he suggested and brushed her hair over her shoulder. "Or maybe sandwiches?"_

_"I could go for some minestrone?" she asked and rolled over to face him, her interest clearly piqued._

_"Coming right up," he rose from the couch and headed for the kitchen. By a stroke of luck, the Gilbert kitchen was stocked with everything he needed. He needed something to do to fill his time instead of replaying the image of Elena in her hospital bed over and over again, or the pain in her eyes when he told her about her parents. He was just putting the finishing touches on their soup when he heard a dull thudding from the hall and looked up just in time to see Elena limping into the kitchen._

_"What are you doing?" he demanded, rushing to her. "I don't how more much clear 'don't walk for two weeks' can be!"_

_"I—" she began, quickly casting her gaze to the floor but not quickly enough for him to miss the tears that were welling in her eyes. "I didn't want to be in there alone." His heart broke again for her and he pulled her into a tight hug, tucking her protectively under his chin, and stroking her hair softly. He could feel her tears soak through his t-shirt. As carefully as he could he guided her to one of the barstools by the kitchen island so she wouldn't be stressing her leg._

_"I'm sorry Damon, I just—," she sobbed until her tears strangled her voice. When he lifted her slightly to set her on the seat she fell against his chest and clung to him like he was her only salvation._

_"Shh," he cooed gently and kissed her temple. "It's ok Lena. Let it out, I've got you."_

_After what seemed like several minutes he could feel her breathing become steadier and her sniffling lessened. Her arms were still locked around his waist as though she'd never let him go. He almost made a sarcastic comment about it, but he realized he had the same grip on her. He hadn't allowed himself a moment to consider what it would have been like if he lost her, but now that he had her in his arms a fresh wave of terror gripped his heart. _

_"What do you say we take this party back to my place instead?" he asked lightly to lift their spirits and she nodded against his chest. "Alright, let me pack this up and we'll head over. Do you need anything from upstairs?"_

_"I just need to grab some clothes," she mumbled and pulled away from him, swiping the backs of her hands over her cheeks._

_"Nope," he shook his head. "_You_ are going to park your ass on the couch while _I _get your clothes and whatever else you want."_

_"Ugh, Damon! I'm not glass," she complained, but the corners of her mouth turned up almost imperceptibly in a tiny smile. _

_"I know that, E-le-na," he said, dragging her name out, "but the fact still stands, you were told not to walk on that leg for two weeks. I, for one, happen to like your legs very much so excuse me for being a little protective of them. Just tell me what you need and relax."_

_"Fine," she huffed and hobbled back to the couch. "My pj's, a change of clothes for tomorrow, my toothbrush… just the normal stuff, I guess."_

_"Now was that so hard?" he smirked and ran up the stairs, dodging the couch pillows she launched at him. He creaked the door to her bedroom open and he strolled inside, rummaging through her dresser to find all of the items she asked for and piling them into her worn MFHS Cheer duffel bag. He pulled open his favorite drawer and took the liberty of adding a few extra items to her overnight bag. The lacy red panties and bra would have clashed terribly with her cast, but at least he'd get a rise out of her when she found them nestled snugly in her duffel. Lastly, he grabbed her teddy bear off of her bed._

_When he came back downstairs he ladled the finished soup into two thermoses. The light on the answering machine was flashing so he jotted down the few numbers that were left on the tape, shoving them in his pocket to deal with later. He had been taking care of the insurance calls and police reports while Elena was in the hospital. She was strong, but he didn't want her having to deal with the details of the accident. Before shutting off the kitchen lights he gave Miranda's African violets in the windowsill a robust drink of water._

_"Ready to go?" he asked and handed Elena the thermoses as he strapped her duffel bag over his chest and scooped her up. She giggled happily and threw an arm around his neck._

_"Tell me all about what it was like cheering for the Timberwolves," she giggled, nudging at her bag slung over his shoulder._

_"Hot girls in short skirts… it was awesome," he smirked and she batted his chest playfully. "Can I trust you not to run off if I set you down to open the car door?"_

_"No."_

_"Too bad. Try not to put any weight on it, ok?" he quickly tossed her bag in the backseat and put the thermoses in the cup holder before helping her in and reaching for her seat belt._

_"Nope," she snatched the buckle from his hand. "Seat belt, I can do. Stop worrying so much."_

_"Kinda part of the job description Lena," he rolled his eyes and closed her door._

_Later that night they were relaxing on the couch watching fluffy Pixar movies that Elena had insisted upon. She had long fallen asleep and had her legs stretched out into Damon's lap. Her cast was heavy and uncomfortable against his knee, he couldn't imagine what it would be like for her to have to wear it for the next six weeks. Without jostling her too much he reached for the Sharpie marker he'd left on the coffee table after labeling some boxes to send to Stefan. Taking one more look to ensure that Elena was soundly sleeping he got to work on his artistic masterpiece. At one point she shifted and almost ruined the whole picture, but he drew the pen back just in time. After about an hour, she sat back and admired his handiwork. Her plain purple cast now had a very angry looking velociraptor on it, waving a particularly menacing claw in the air along with a "No WALKING!" warning. He smiled to himself, knowing that she'd be in mood about it in the morning but it was still funny._

_He debated for a moment on whether to move her to "her" room, his room, or to leave her on the couch. She looked comfortable and was already sound asleep so he figured he'd just add another blanket on top of her and let her sleep on the sofa. Before retiring to his room he added another log to the fire to keep the room warm for the night and crouched down next to the sofa._

_"Don't scare me like that again, Elena. I don't know what I would do without you," Damon said softly and lightly caressed her cheek. "I love you and we'll get through this. I'm always going to be here for you." He brushed a hurried kiss to her forehead and left the room as quietly as he could._

_The next morning he was awoken by the sunlight coming through the curtains he had forgotten to close in his bedroom. He lay on his back enjoying the silence of the morning when the air was cut with a shrill scream from the parlor._

_"Damon! What is this?" Elena yelled. He assumed she saw his artistic addition to her cast._

Damon's eyes shot open and took in the unfamiliar surroundings. It took him a few moments to get his bearings and realize that they were still asleep on the floor of their room at the bed and breakfast. Elena was swimming in his t-shirt from the day before and had her back curled against his chest and their hands tangled over her heart. Her deep rhythmic breaths told him that she was still sleeping soundly and he debated whether to wake her up or not since she seemed at peace. If it was anything less important he probably would have let it go and tried to fall back asleep, but he had to know.

"Elena," he whispered harshly, shaking her shoulder to wake her up.

"Go back to sleep," Elena groaned and rolled over, burrowing her head against his chest. "Freaking morning people."

"Elena, wake up," he attempted again, stroking her hair and pulling her away from him.

"What?" she mumbled sleepily and rubbed at her eyes.

"I just had a dream."

"Ok," she said, her eyes dropping back closed. "Do you want to finish it?"

"I think it might be something, another memory maybe," he added and her eyes popped back open.

"What was it?"

"I think it was right after… Elena," he paused sitting up to look at her. She was lying on her back staring at the ceiling and taking strangely deep breaths. "Hey, Lena, are you ok?"

"Yeah," she answered quickly, nodding her head frantically. "Oh my gosh, no," she mumbled and scrambled off the floor into the bathroom, slamming the door in her wake.

"What the fu—?" Damon mumbled to himself and pulled himself off of the floor grabbing for his boxers which were graciously near by. He could hear her coughing and retching on the other side of the door, but still rapped his knuckles against the wood partition that separated them. "Elena, I'm coming in, ok?"

"No! Don't! I'm fine, I'll be out in a second," she answered back sounding a little panicked. Choosing to ignore her completely he tried the handle, which, to his surprised, opened easily. She had been in such a rush she didn't lock the door behind her. When he entered the small bathroom she was on her knees in front of the toilet with her forehead resting on the arm she had stretched across the seat. "Ugh, I'm disgusting Damon, you don't have to be in here," she whined before emptying her stomach again.

"Says the woman who spent a whole evening cleaning my blood out of the upholstery at home," he joked as he ran a washcloth under a cool stream of water even though it physically pained him to watch her suffer. He crouched down next to her and stretched the damp material over the back of her neck. "And you're never disgusting."

"You have to say that because you're married to me," she mumbled. Damon sat with his back against the tub and Elena took the invitation to curl up on the tile next to him with her head in his lap.

"Seems like someone's sensitive little tummy still can't handle stadium food, huh?" he teased and ran his fingers through her hair, brushing it away from her face.

"Shut up," she groaned.

"I guess I can't interest you in chili fries for breakfast can I?" he tried again for a smile.

"I really want to hate you right now," she giggled quietly.

"Lucky for both of us I'm too adorable for that."

"You're pushing it Salvatore, I wouldn't bank on your adorableness if I were you."

"Ouch mean wife," Damon feigned hurt. "Is this the kind of abuse that I have to look forward to when you get pregnant?"

"Wh-what?" she demanded sitting bolt upright from his lap and staring at him white as a ghost.

"Shit, are you and I don't remember?" he stuttered. It wouldn't be out of the realm of possibility, but something like that probably would have come up already.

"No!" she yelped in response. "Well, I mean, at least I don't think so."

"You don't _think_ so?"

"I can't be, it's been like…" she trailed off.

"What's been like what?" he asked as he watched her count off dates in her head. "Elena! What's been like what?"

"Oh god, I'm late!" she cried and leapt up and began pacing back and forth across the tile floor.

"Late for what? We're on vacation baby, now focus."

"_Late,_ Damon. I. Am. Late!" Elena attempted to clarify.

"You mean like… oh," he acknowledged with wide eyes and a bewildered nod. "_Late_ with the woman stuff. Got it."

"Yeah," she sighed and wrung her fingers together.

"So… should we get a test or something?"

"What if it comes back positive?"

"Then wouldn't that mean you're pregnant?"

"No kidding, Damon," she snapped and threw her hands in the air. "I mean what are we going to do? We're not ready for this!"

"I don't know, but maybe we should find out for sure before you freak out. Maybe you're not pregnant, I mean what are the chances of that happening anyways?"

"Seriously? We've been having sex several times a day for the past month," she said flatly, when she saw a wide grin spread across his face she couldn't help but chuckle a little. "Stop that, I'm serious."

"Yeah, seriously hot for me apparently," he said with a quirk of his eyebrow. His expression turned serious with the daggers she glared back at him. "Ok, fine, fine, but aren't you on the pill?"

"Yeah," she nodded carefully.

"See, I'm sure it's just a stomach bug or something," he dismissed casually.

"But I missed a pill while you were in the hospital, or maybe two. I can't remember." She was beginning to get flustered again and the pacing resumed.

"Ok, time out," he demanded and put his hands on her shoulders. "Let's avert the freak out until we get the test, deal?"

"Yeah, ok, deal. No freak outs." She attempted to take deep breaths and calm her nerves, but it was doing little to assuage her anxiety.

"No freak outs. Now let's get dressed and go pick out pee sticks," Damon said with a disarming smile. She had no idea how he could do that, in the midst of what would potentially be one of the biggest moments of their lives he could just smile and shrug it off like it was nothing.

AYATM

"Hey, this one gives you a smiley face… that's a little presumptuous actually," Damon frowned and replaced the box on the pharmacy shelf. He had no idea that there was such a market for at-home pregnancy tests, he was all for getting one of each to make sure but Elena wasn't game for spending all morning in the bathroom repeating the same test.

"I don't want the potential next generation of Salvatores to be heralded by a smug emoticon," she mumbled, vacantly looking over a different test.

"Oh, this one is digital. What do you think women fifty years ago would think if they knew you could pee on a tiny computer to see if you're pregnant?" he asked, reading the insert for the particular test. When he got no reply from Elena he peeked over to see her standing next to him staring blankly at the shelf in front of her. "What's wrong baby?"

"What are we going to do Damon?"

"I haven't finished the instructions yet, but I think you just do your thing and wait for the results. That's step one. Remembering our no freak out clause is step two. Then step three is to be decided, pending results of step one."

"And if I really am pregnant?"

"Then we'll work it out," he replied and tried not to make his eye roll too obvious. "I'll make all your late night food craving runs to the supermarket and we can teach our kid to call Stef 'Aunt Stefanie.' People have been having kids forever Lena, we're not the first ones in this situation."

"Do you really want to be a dad?"

"Yeah, I guess I do," he shrugged. He couldn't be sure but he guessed by Elena's earlier reaction that they hadn't had the baby talk yet. He wouldn't have admitted it to anyone but he had thought about her carrying his child since the morning she went toe-to-toe with him in his room about his attitude when he forgot everything and then cleaned and bandaged his incision. She was so strong and willful, but still achingly tender and patient with him; she reminded him of his own mother.

"You never mentioned it before," she shot back. She had thought about it a thousand times and she knew Damon would be an excellent father by the way he took care of her and Stefan. She could imagine him waking up for middle of the night feedings, packing school lunches, and coaching little league with a smile on his handsome face. She could imagine chasing a little raven-haired toddler around the park with Caroline on sunny days before going to feed the ducks at the lake like she and Jeremy used to. She wanted it, so much that it stole the breath from her chest, but she wasn't sure if they were in a good place for a child. She was elated that Damon was getting his memories back but they had a long way to go before they were back to where they were before everything started.

"I never really thought about it before," he shrugged again, not wanting to let on that he had thought quite extensively about it.

"How can we have a baby when you've never even thought about it, Damon?" she snapped. Part of her was hurt that he hadn't imagined the same future that she had, and part of her was furious at his continued flippancy about the situation. "This is huge and you're talking about it like it's picking out a new houseplant!"

"Elena, hey, inside voice," he said in a low tone to remind her that they were still in the pregnancy aisle of the pharmacy. "Let's just find out first, ok? And if there's a handsome little Salvatore bun in that sexy oven you have my word that you can go crazy on me and freak out all you want."

"Fine," she sighed and crossed her arms over her chest. Without a further word Damon went back to reading the various package inserts and she laid her head on his shoulder and shuffled closer to him, "I'm sorry, I'm just really scared."

"We'll get a twin pack and I'll take it with you. Then we can mix them up and guess which one's which."

"You're not going to take this seriously, are you?" she grumbled, starting to get wound up again.

"I'm seriously in love with you and I'm all in on this, no matter what. It can't be worse than brain tumor and amnesia, right?"

Elena just rolled her eyes and turned away from him.

"You know I'm right," he said and turned her face towards him. "I'm in, ok?"

AYATM

"How much longer?" Elena asked from her perch on the side of the bathtub. She was nervously bouncing her legs on the floor and fidgeting with the hem of her sweater.

"Thirty seconds," Damon said staring at his the second hand of his watch tick towards one of the most important moments on his life so far. "Ok, ten seconds. Annnd… now."

Elena grabbed wildly at the plastic stick on the counter and looked at the tiny result window. Her eyes immediately welled up with tears and she could feel her ribcage squeezing at her lungs. She hung her head so low that her chin rested on her chest, attempting to make a curtain of her hair to hide her tears from Damon.

"Well, mine is negative as I suspected," Damon announced with a light-hearted smile. "What about yours?" he asked and looked over just in time to see a tear roll down her cheek. "Hey, don't cry. We're in this together, baby. You're going to be such an incredible mother Elena, I know I said I never thought about it before but I have. I've thought about it a lot, actually. And you'll be so beautiful carrying our child."

At his words Elena sobbed harder and covered her face with her free hand.

"I know you're scared Lena," he continued and pulled her against him. "But I know I want this and I'll be with you every step of the way. And this kid is going to be so ridiculously loved, I mean can you imagine Caroline and Jenna shopping for baby clothes? And I'm sure Ric will be ok with adding another member to Team Badass, even if it's a girl."

"It's negative, Damon," she managed.

"Oh," was his only reply, he tried not to sound disappointed but failed miserably.

"I'm not pregnant."

"So…" he began cautiously, "why are you crying?"

"I don't know," she admitted tearfully, "I guess I might have wanted it to be positive."

"Earlier though…" Damon started again, he had definitely had some crises as of late but he was fairly certain that he had entered a third dimension at some point. Just an hour before Elena was panicking at the mere motion of being pregnant, and now she was weeping over a negative test. "It seemed like you—"

"I know, and I know we're not ready and that it'd be horrible timing."

"But?"

"I want to have babies with you," she wailed and pulled tissue after tissue from the nearby box with fervent determination.

"We have plenty of time for babies, Lena."

"That's what you said before— that we'd have time and then we almost didn't."

"Ok, that's true, I guess… but everything is fine now."

"For now! But what's going to be next? What if we never get a family?"

"Look, Elena, I know you're going to be pissed that I'm saying this, but you're being fucking crazy right now. First you don't want a baby, now you do want a baby, then we're not ready, but now there's not enough time. I can't keep up. If you want a family, then we can start trying and it'll happen whenever it happens. But being a basket case isn't going to do your lady parts any favors, so just relax."

"This is all just a big joke to you isn't it?" she shrieked and threw the empty test box into the wastebasket. "So I get stuck looking like the emasculating psychopath because I'm trying to keep things in a realistic perspective. 'Oh poor Damon, he was just joking around and Elena bit his head off.' But you're _always_ joking around and I just want you to take one thing seriously. Just once, is that so hard for you to do?!"

"I'm not even going to answer because you're going to kick me in the balls no matter what I say."

"Get out," she seethed. "Get out, get out, get out!"

"I'm going to leave only because I know you need a minute," he said calmly and unplugged his phone from where it was charging.

"Just go Damon!" she yelled again and launched the box of tissues in his direction.

"Fuck it," he sneered, "I'll go… gladly!" He pulled on his jacket and muttered a string of curses to himself, making certain to slam the door to their room with a healthy amount of force. He made it halfway down the hall before he heard the door open again, he was hoping Elena had come to her senses and was calling him back.

"And stay gone until you can learn to have a fucking adult conversation!" she yelled and slammed the door with such gusto that it put his exit to shame. His jaw was nearly on the floor at both the volume and profanity in her cast off. He made his way down the stairs and straight for the pub three doors down from the bed and breakfast.

AYATM

"_Advertising Department,_" the perky voice answered at the other end of the line. _"Caroline Forbes speaking_."

"Care," Elena mumbled and drew in a sharp breath. "Sorry for bothering you at work."

"_Lena? Oh my god, what happened? Are you ok? Where are you?_"

"I'm fine, sort of. I'm in our room in Raleigh. Damon and I just got into a huge fight."

"_Ok, well I'm sure he'll come around babe. Just give him a beat._"

"It's my fault, I went full on crazy on him Care and I don't even know why. I just couldn't stop myself. I don't even really know what he did, but I just had to yell at him."

"_Maybe you're pregnant and hormonal_," Caroline suggested and started laughing hysterically. "_No but seriously, he'll get over it. You've had a really stressful few weeks and I'm sure he understands_."

"That's the thing, I was really sick this morning for no apparent reason. I took a pregnancy test and it was negative."

"_So you went crazy on Damon and had morning sickness? You're totally pregnant Lena, I don't care what the test says._"

"Oh my god," Elena groaned and slid down the wall onto the floor, pressing her forehead against her knees.

"_Oh my god good? Are we happy?"_ Caroline asked and Elena could almost hear her bouncing up and down. "_Are we happy we're having a little Delena baby? It's going to be so cute! I can't wait, what do you want a boy or a girl? Totally a girl and she can be Miss Mystic just like her aunt Caroline. Oh my gosh, I have to have babies, too, so we can raise them together and they can be BFF's!_"

"Caroline," Elena said, attempting to derail the "Barbie Express" as Damon called it.

"_Now we have to plan a wedding a_nd_ a baby shower. Do you want to get married pregnant, because we could totally find you a dress so don't worry about that."_

"Caroline!" Elena tried again, a little louder.

"_What?_" Caroline said, a little piqued that her brainstorming had been interrupted.

"I'm not pregnant, the test is ninety-nine per cent accurate."

"_Which means that it's one per cent inaccurate and they don't work if you take them too early."_

"So what should I do?"

"_Well first of all, I think you should track down your amnesic husband before he gets lost and he's not microchipped so he'll never make it home. Then I think you should go to the doctor. Then I think we should go baby shopping!"_

"I can't have a baby Care!"

"_Why not?"_

"Damon isn't even in remission yet! What if something happens to him? I can't… I just can't do this on my own, Care!"

"_Oh my god, I am about to get my beating stick and come find you Elena Gilbert-Salvatore_," Caroline groaned into the speaker._ "Firstly, Damon a-freaking-dores you and he would put up the fight of the century if he had a family he was fighting for, that guy isn't going anywhere—brain tumor be damned. Secondly, OUCH! Don't ever say that you're alone. You have me, and I'm not goin' anywhere mama, and there's Jenna and Jeremy, Stefan, Ric, Bonnie, and Matt. Now tell me you understand that because I really am looking for my stick and my car keys. I know where you're staying."_

"I'm sorry, Care. I'm just so scared of losing him and I feel like I can't put anything else on the line without a guarantee that he'll be ok."

"_Since we're in a serious conversation can I get a pass so you won't take what I say the wrong way and think I'm a total B?_"

"Yeah, of course."

"_There are no guarantees in life, Lena. You, of all people, should know that. People come and go, even people that we love. But it's the risk that makes everything so magical. And no matter what, no one can guarantee that something won't happen to Damon, or to you for that matter, but you just have to have faith in his love for you and your love for him. I mean, that's been enough so far hasn't it? I grew up in a home with two parents who never talked and I doubt if they ever even really loved each other. And it sucked, really sucked. I wish my dad ever looked at my mom the way Damon looks at you. A baby born into a love like yours, jeez, he or she would be one lucky baby. And if it's a year or a century, being able to pass that kind of love along to someone is a pretty amazing opportunity."_

"So I really am being crazy then?" Elena sniffled, shocked at the depth and truth in Caroline's revelation.

"_You kinda are_," Caroline agreed, her smile obvious in her voice.

"What do I do now? I kicked him out and swore at him."

"_Go find him and tell him you're sorry."_

"Yeah, good start," Elena smiled.

"_Then get your ass to a doctor and get some answers!"_

"I will, and you'll be the first one to know. Thanks Care, don't work too hard, ok?"

"_Pshht, do I ever?_" Caroline scoffed and her end of the line went silent.

Elena dragged herself from the floor and headed out to look for Damon. She figured the walk could help clear her mind and give her some time to rehearse an epic apology.

_Meanwhile…_

"I don't care what it is," Damon announced to the bartender as he dropped onto an empty seat in the pub and slapped a fifty-dollar bill on the counter. "Just keep it neat and keep it coming."

"Rough morning?" the friendly dark-haired bartender asked as she pulled out a glass and a bottle of top shelf whiskey.

"Fucking-A sister," Damon smirked and drained the small glass in one swig, enjoying the languid warmth that spread in the wake of the amber liquid.

"Anything worth talking about?" she asked with raised eyebrows and poured him another two fingers.

"What do you know about women…" Damon asked, peering carefully at her nametag, "Bree?"

"I know that getting plastered at noon on a Sunday ain't going to impress one."

"I'm not worried about impressing her," he grumbled and banged the empty glass back onto the glossy bar top. "I'm just worried about staving off her psychotic alter ego that wants to kill me at the moment for a reason which is beyond my male comprehensive faculties."

"So you screwed up?" Bree asked with an amused lilt to her voice.

"Yep, I screwed up," Damon agreed and raked his hands through his hair in frustration.

"Well admitting it is the first step," she chuckled. "I'm sure it's nothing that can't be fixed."

"I wouldn't be so sure, I've never seen her that pissed before and I've known her since the day her parents brought her home from the hospital."

"We all have our breaking points."

"That's the thing, Elena doesn't break. She just doesn't. She handles things with grace and hot-looking-ness, then she moves on. She doesn't slam doors and say 'fuck' but she did this morning. With quite colorful flair, I may add. And I don't get it; I can't even begin to understand what was going on in that pretty head of hers. I don't know how to react to that shit, so I just try to make her smile and she bites my head off. I want to have a baby with my wife. Sue me! Hell, I want an entire tribe of mini Salvatores with that woman. Does that make me a shitty husband, Bree?"

"What does she want?"

"Fuck if I know because one minute she's losing it over the notion that she _might_ be pregnant and the next she's crying because the test is negative. Then poof, she's kicking me out and telling me to stay gone."

"Oh honey, that sounds like a scared woman if I ever heard one." Bree noted and poured her own drink.

"Scared of what? I've been over the moon for that girl since I was eight and she knows that. I told her that I was all in, I don't what else I can do."

"Sometimes actions speak louder than words."

"What would the best 'action' be in this case?" Damon asked, using his fingers to mark quotations into the smoky air surrounding them.

"Go find her and tell her you're sorry."

"But sorry for what? I still don't even know what I did!"

"Just apologize for everything, then she'll know that you're serious."

"You really think that will work?"

"It can't hurt, can it?"

"I guess not," he shrugged and batted his glass between his hands, trying to formulate the exact method and delivery of his apology to make sure Elena would accept it.

"Take your time, just not too much time," Bree smiled and flitted to the other end of the bar to serve a group of older men that looked like regulars.

"Is this seat taken?" a feminine voice called out from just over Damon's shoulder. Of course it was a moot question since was already sliding her tastelessly short miniskirt into the stool next to him. She ruffled her sunny golden curls and set her clutch on the bar top before turning to face him, "I'm Jules."

"I'm married," Damon answered blandly, not even bothering to look at her. He already knew the type because she was exactly the type of woman he used to seek out: pretty, desperate, and easy.

"I don't see your wife with you, Married," Jules leant closer to him and warbled.

"She's at home," he growled, tightening his grip on the tumbler until he could feel the grains of crystal groan against his palm.

"That's a shame, you must be lonely without her," she pouted and brazenly ran her hand to the inside of his knee.

"I'm not," Damon snapped and swatted her hand away.

"Hey Jules, not this one," Bree said and shooed the woman away. "Local strumpet, she's harmless," Bree explained to Damon. "I think it's about time you get back to your girl, honey."

"Time indeed," Damon agreed and pushed himself back from the bar. "Thank you for the advice."

"Anytime Damon," Bree smiled at his puzzled expression and she handed him a little worn sticky note that had a little pencil drawing or a stick figure in a cheerleading skirt and pom-poms. There was a hastily-drawn banner across the top that said "Damon's personal cheer squad" and at the bottom was the loopy signature he loved so much, "Love & lots of hugs, Elena." He had found the note on the inside of his locker before one of his baseball games in high school and carried it in his wallet since then, it must have stuck to the bill he handed to Bree when he first arrived. "Good luck."

"Thanks." Damon dragged himself off the barstool and headed out to look for Elena. He figured the walk could help clear his mind and give him some time to rehearse an epic apology.

AYATM

"Elena?" he called out to the empty room. "Are you here?" He got no answer and his heart sunk, thinking maybe she had left but all of their personal belongings were where they had left them.

He pulled out his phone, hitting the speed dial for Elena. His end of the line started to ring and he heard Imagine Dragons crooning "It's Time" from the bathroom.

"Shit," he muttered and tossed his phone onto the nightstand before collapsing onto the bed. She had taken off without her phone and his car keys were still on the table, so she had to be coming back soon. If she got into trouble or needed something though, she'd have no way of contacting him.

It felt like he had been staring at the ceiling for hours before he heard the timid click of the doorknob and a small stream of light pour in from the hallway.

"Damon?" Elena asked quietly.

"Yeah," he answered, sitting up just in time to be hit with her flying towards him.

"I'm so sorry," she said with deep conviction and clung to his chest. "I never meant to get angry at you. I never should have told you to get out, I don't—"

He cut off her rambling apology with a searing kiss. "I'm sorry too, for everything," he said against her lips.

"I don't want to fight with you," Elena said and threaded her fingers through his hair.

"I'm good with that," Damon smirked.

"If you don't want to talk about it now, I'll understand, but I want a family with you."

"We can talk about it whenever you're ready."

"I think I should make a doctor's appointment when we get home," she smiled knowingly and circled her arms around his neck once again.

* * *

**A/N: Sorry for the cliffie my dear readers, but I know some of you like them ;) I hope the wait was worth it, let me know what you all think. I will also be posting an update for ****_Heartlines_**** shortly as well, so stay tuned...**

**XOXO ~Anna**


	18. Chapter 18: Smother

_SOOOOOOOOO sorry to my most awesomest of awesome readers for the eons between updates here. I have no good excuse other than massive being-a-sucky-writer-in-an-inspiration-rut on my part. BUT, if you're still with me a million thank you's from the bottom of my little repentant heart :) The good news is, I think I am back on track with this story. I've come up with a few new ideas that I'm really excited about to keep the plot fresh. I hope you like this chapter! I haven't had a chance to do a close read-through yet so if there are glaring errors I apologize in advance. _

_Disclaimer: I do not own _Vampire Diaires_, the characters, or their likenesses. No copyright infringement intended._

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"Are you ready for this?" Elena asked giddily as she and Damon sat in his car outside Mystic Falls Family Clinic.

"Yep," Damon nodded, swallowing the lump in his throat. "You?"

"So ready," she beamed and swung the passenger door open. "Let's do this!"

Elena strolled confidently into the clinic, straight up the reception desk and checked herself in. The whole time she wore a wide smile across her face. The receptionist told her it would be a few minutes so she took a seat next to Damon and pounced on a stack of parenting magazines on the coffee table.

"Look how cute that is," Elena twittered and pointed at a picture of a little baby girl dressed up like a butterfly for Halloween. She was positively glowing after coming to terms with the fact that they might be pregnant. She had chattered almost the entire trip home about baby names and nursery colors and preschools in Mystic Falls. Damon hoped that she hadn't been getting her hopes up unnecessarily but he was glad she was excited because it sure as hell beat exiling him from their room. It warmed him to his very core to see her happy and to have been able to give her something like that, no matter how unintentional or poorly timed.

"Do you want a girl or a boy?" she asked casually. He already knew she wanted a daughter, and wanted to name her after their mothers: Miranda Elsbeth Salvatore. She had talked about almost nothing else for the past two hours. "You want a boy, don't you?"

"I'd be happy with either," Damon tried to be neutral but the truth was he wanted a little girl, too. He wanted a daughter he could spoil like a princess and who would grow up to be as smart and beautiful as her mother. Of course, he didn't want to admit that to Elena or anyone else. After all, he had a reputation to uphold.

"Come on," she needled, looking for a more concrete answer. "You have to have a preference!"

"I'll tell you on the condition that what I say _never _leaves this room," he said with his eyes narrowed in seriousness.

"Never ever."

"A girl."

Elena smiled smugly and settled back against her chair looking at more pictures. Damon looked around the room at the other couples. He noticed that none of them looked particularly happy. The woman to their left was griping at her toddler for fidgeting in his seat too much and the couple across from them were whispering back and forth to each other in tones that were less-than-loving. He turned to watch Elena, realizing for the millionth time that he could remember that he was truly blessed. Whatever the outcome today he had the love of his life right next to him. They'd made it through some of the worst curves life could throw at two people and they were stronger for it. He didn't have to have all of his memories back to know how lucky he was. Elena must have felt him staring at her, because she turned her head coyly to give him a dazzling smile.

"What?"

"Nothing," he shrugged.

"Mhmm, sure," she giggled girlishly and kissed him chastely.

"Salvatore," one of the young assistants called and motioned for them to follow her to one of the brightly-colored exam rooms. Elena followed close behind her, surveying the room and smiling to herself. She was hoping she'd be back often in the coming months. "Is this your first time here?"

"Yep," Elena nodded.

"Great, well here is your highly fashionable exam gown," the assistant grinned. "We'll draw some blood real quick and do an ultrasound and the doctor will be in to go over the results with you. I'll be back in a few minutes with the ultrasound unit so you can change. And… Mr. Salvatore, are you alright?"

"Whoa, Damon," Elena mumbled when she looked over to see why the assistant was so distracted. Damon looked sheet white as he stared at some of the framed sonogram photos on the wall. "Maybe you should sit down for a minute."

"No," Damon squeaked before clearing his throat and starting again in his usual voice. "No, I'm good. Just… uh… are these human babies?"

"Yes," the assistant attempted without laughing. "They're all very tiny human babies. I promise."

"Creepy," he replied with distaste and he could feel the two women in the room staring daggers into him. "Precious, I meant."

"Riiiight, well I'll be back in just a few." The assistant scurried out of the exam room.

"Way to be awkward Damon. 'Are these human babies?' Really?" Elena hissed as she pulled her shirt off to dress in the provided gown.

"What? Look at that! It's like a peanut with eyeballs! I'm sorry but there's no way our kid looks like that… thing," Damon cried gesturing wildly at the picture.

Elena just rolled her eyes, knowing there was no way to win that argument. As soon as she was dressed she waited patiently for the assistant to return. Mercifully, the girl was swift with fetching the machine and phlebotomy kit. She was far more adept than other people Elena has dealt with in the past, and she chatted about the different things to expect during pregnancy while she was drawing blood and collecting her ultrasound photos. In fact, the entire production went by in a blink for Elena and she was left waiting eagerly for the doctor. Unfortunately, the doctor was not so speedy as his assistant and Elena obsessively checked her phone's clock every minute or two.

"Mr. and Mrs. Salvatore, thank you for waiting. I'm sorry for the delay, it's baby season around here," the doctor apologized with a chuckle as he made his way into the exam room. Elena was giddy with excitement, _baby season_. In a matter of seconds her and Damon were going to be expectant parents.

"Are the test results back?" Elena asked politely, trying to hide the urgency in her voice.

"The lab just finished with them," the doctor smiled. Elena swore she saw a shade of pity in his face. "It looks like you aren't pregnant this time."

"I knew it!" Elena squealed, "I just knew—wait… what did you say?"

"I'm very sorry, Mrs. Salvatore. The test is negative."

"But I was sick," Elena muttered. She could distantly register Damon snaking his arm around her shoulders. "I don't understand."

"It could be any number of things, like a seasonal flu or mild food poisoning. It also seems like you've had a stressful last month, which could be an important factor."

"Is there any chance that the test could be wrong?" Elena asked with a small flame of hope in her eyes.

"Anything is possible, of course, but in this case it's highly unlikely. The test is very sensitive and specific," the doctor explained in the most detached terms he could muster. Seeing that it had no effect on the brunette before him, he reached a little farther. "I've been in practice for 25 years and I've never seen a false negative."

"Well that's ok, right? I mean, it's just one test," Damon shrugged and pulled Elena closer to him before the tears had a chance to appear. "Thank you for your help Doc."

Damon moved to rise from his chair and get out of the office as quickly as possible but he was abruptly stopped by the sullen tone in the doctor's voice.

"There is one more thing, if I could have a moment with you Mrs. Salvatore?"

"Don't leave," Elena begged quietly as her hand shot out to grab Damon's elbow and stop him from leaving the room. "Whatever this is concerns Damon, too."

"I understand," the good doctor nodded and crossed his hands over one another on top of Elena's file. "What I'm about to tell you is not easy and I hate to be the bearer of bad news. Have you ever had abdominal surgery?"

"Yeah, I was in a car accident last summer and they had to umm… do a…" Elena mumbled looking to Damon to fill in the blanks but he just shook his head. He couldn't remember the accident or anything after it, and they hadn't talked about it. "A splenectomy, I think, to stop the bleeding. But they said I would be ok."

"From the ultrasound it looks like there is a lot of scar tissue, adhesions, in your abdomen, particularly around your uterus. It's probably partially due to the trauma of the accident and the emergency surgery following it."

"So…" Damon demanded.

"So, because of the adhesions it's very unlikely that you will be able to carry a pregnancy to full term Mrs. Salvatore."

"What are you saying? That I can't have children?" Elena asked, completely blind-sided.

"Like I said, anything is possible. I am happy to set you up with a fertility physician to explore therapies or alternate pathways to parenthood."

"Sure, yeah," Elena mumbled and gathered her purse. "We'll just call later to make an appointment I guess. Thank you."

She didn't even hear the doctor's response as she made her way out of the exam room. For a moment she reflected on the contrast between her journey to that room that was filled with so much hope and her journey back that was decidedly devoid of such feelings. The only thing that kept her moving forward was Damon's strong, silent presence next to her. She drew courage from his gentleness of his arm around her waist; he knew that there was nothing he could say to comfort her and she imagined that he was just as devastated by the news.

"I forgot my wallet in there I think," Damon said once they got into the car. "I'll be right back."

"Ok," Elena managed a small smile. She had always teased Damon for his inability to keep track of his things, at least that hadn't changed. She watched him walk back into the clinic before glancing over to see his wallet sitting in the center console.

_AYATM_

"What the fuck, Doc?" Damon hissed as he swung the door to the doctor's office open.

"I'm really sorry Doctor Johnson, I asked him not to come back here," the assistant who had taken Elena's test apologized at the doorway.

"It's quite alright Amber, I'll take it from here," the doctor smiled at the frazzled girl. Angry patients' spouses were nothing new to him. "Mr. Salvatore, please have a seat."

"No. I'd rather you just tell me why you just ruined my wife's life."

"Mr. Salvatore, I'm very sorry. Like I said, I hate to be the bearer of bad news but it is what it is."

"The doctor said she was going to be fine after her surgery. She looked me right in the eye and said Elena would be fine. So one of you is lying."

"I suspect that the splenectomy saved your wife's life. Adhesions are not common, but they aren't uncommon either."

"So the surgeon lied. I can't give my wife a family and that's not 'fine.'"

"There are complications associated with every procedure—"

"Yeah, we know all about complications," Damon interrupted angrily. "This isn't a simple little complication."

"Can I level with you? Man to man?" the doctor asked with a deep sigh. Damon crossed his arms over his chest and shrugged for him to continue. "From what I read in her file, Elena shouldn't have survived that accident. She had the best doctors in this hospital working on her because she is Grayson's little girl, our chief of surgery came in from home to scrub in on her procedures, and even still she arrested twice on the table. The surgeons who kept her alive did a damn fine job and you are lucky to have her with you today. And I realize how badly this news hurts, I really do, and I'm sorry to be the one to pass it on to you, but if we're looking at the big picture this isn't the biggest obstacle Elena has overcome in her young life. I'm sure you will find a way."

"She died?" Damon asked barely louder than a whisper. For a moment he was glad that part of his memory had been lost.

"Her heart stopped," the doctor clarified but for Damon it was the same thing. Without even knowing it he had skirted the edge of losing everything. For a moment he was crushed with guilt for walking out on her so readily the day before and for fighting with her, but that was soon pushed aside by a deep and abiding gratitude to whatever power was out there that kept Elena here with him. "My advice to you is to not give up, keep trying. She beats the odds before, there's nothing stopping her from doing it again."

"Thanks," Damon mumbled, still trying to process the information he just received. "Sorry, I uh…"

"No harm done," the doctor reassured with a smile.

As Damon walked out of the office he could see Elena through the windshield of his car messing with something on the radio. With more determination than he'd ever had before he marched up to the passenger side, swung the door open, and peeled her out of the seat to pin her against the cool metal of the Camaro.

"Damon, what are you—?" she began but he cut her off with the most passionate kiss he could. She was too shocked to respond at first, but her hands found their way to the collar of his jacket and she pulled him closer. He caressed her lips with his tongue, asking for entrance to her mouth, which she eagerly granted. She moaned softly into the kiss when she felt him press his hips against her, his desire made even more obvious. Forgetting they were still in public, Elena brushed her knee against the side of Damon's thigh.

They were interrupted by a woman clearing her throat as she got into the car that was parked next to them. Elena blushed profusely and covered her face with her hands. Lacking the shame gene as he did, Damon just smirked over his shoulder at the frowning woman.

"What was that for?" Elena asked, looking up at him through her dark eyelashes.

"I love you," Damon answered honestly.

"I love you, too. Your wallet was in the center console the whole time."

"I know."

"Did you assault him?" she asked, knowing the real reason he had stormed back into the doctor's office.

"Almost," Damon shrugged and opened her door for her.

_AYATM_

"Congratulations Mama…" Caroline shouted as she jumped off the sofa and ran to the foyer as soon as she heard the handle turn over; she was cut off by Damon shaking his head and drawing his fingers across his neck in the universal sign for knock it the F off. "_Mia_…" Caroline attempted to redeem herself. "Congratulations to _Mama Mia!_ for being uh… um… Stefan's new favorite movie."

"Yeah, my favorite _ever_," Stefan agreed awkwardly. "When the guy does that thing with the stuff. Wow."

"Yeah, that one guy, oh my gosh, I loved him," Caroline gushed.

"You guys don't have to pretend," Elena said as she hung her coat on the hook by the door.

"Who's pretending?" Stefan said with a warm smile. "In fact, I think Caroline are going to go watch that movie right now… at her house."

"Yep, that was the plan we had way before you guys got back," Caroline said with a forced shrug of her shoulders. She was glad the younger Salvatore was just as bad of a liar as she was because things were getting awkward in a hurry. "We are going to watch _Mama Mia_ at my house. You guys can come if you want?"

Elena just shook her head and disappeared towards the kitchen.

"Goddamn it Caroline!" Damon hissed as soon as he was sure Elena couldn't hear. "Why didn't you just post a fucking banner?!"

"How was I supposed to know, _Damon_?" Caroline shot back waving her hands in the air wildly. "She gets sick and goes crazy on you, what the hell am I supposed to think?"

"You're not! Don't think! Just keep your fucking mouth shut!"

"Guys…" Stefan attempted to intervene between his girlfriend and his brother.

"Oh right, I need to keep my mouth shut. I'm sorry but I wasn't the one texting his brother all frickin' night about 'baby this—' and 'baby that—.' Excuse me fore getting a little caught up!"

"Hey…" Stefan tried again.

"'Caught up?' You don't think she would have called you right after the appointment if she were pregnant? Maybe given you a reason to ambush her in the doorway?"

"Why don't we just—" Stefan endeavored for a third time.

"Shut up Stefan!" Caroline and Damon shouted at the same time before glaring back at each other.

"Both of you need to cut it out," Stefan said in an uncharacteristically stern voice. "Damon, Caroline was just excited for her friend. Now, your wife is in the kitchen alone doing god-knows-what. Go be a husband and stop bickering like a six year old."

"Yeah," Caroline agreed and crossed her arms over her chest.

"You too Caroline," Stefan reminded her gently and Caroline blushed in embarrassment. "We are going to be gone for the rest of the night to give you two the time you need to do whatever you need to do."

Damon nodded, not wanting to say anything because he knew he had been bested by his younger brother with the best weapon of all… logic. Stefan and Caroline beat a hasty retreat out the door while the elder Salvatore took a moment to collect his thoughts before heading to the kitchen.

He found Elena sitting at the kitchen island on the barstool with a single glass of red wine in front of her. She was spinning the cork absently between her fingers and staring out of the bay window over the sink into the dark moonless night.

"I'm not having a meltdown," Elena said with a small smile as soon as she could see his countenance reflected against the window. "You can put the DEFCON 2 face away."

"I don't know baby," Damon said as he pulled one of the barstools up next to her. "Drinking by oneself is generally the first sign of an impending meltdown."

Elena chuckled and pulled a second glass over, filling it half way with merlot and sliding it to Damon. "Now I'm not alone."

"You are never alone," Damon said softly and took a sip. They sat in silence for several minutes, just enjoying the particularly well-aged vintage and each other's company.

"I wish that test had been positive," Elena said sadly, breaking the silence.

"It will be someday," Damon reassured her.

"I want a baby, Damon," she sniffled, although she had willed herself not to cry again she couldn't help the tears that sprung to the rims of her eyes. "Our baby."

"So do I," he agreed, turning to face her. "And we will. We have time honey. I'll give you as big a family as you want."

"But what if the doctor is right, and I can't get pregnant?"

"It's all odds and chance, the more we play the more chances we have to win," he smirked, hoping he could get her to laugh again.

"We've never talked about having a family before."

"Well we have to house to ourselves, Radio Free Forbes isn't around to fuck up our privacy," Damon growled bitterly as he topped off their glasses. "So, let's talk about it."

"Now?"

"Yes, now, because when this bottle is finished I plan on taking you to bed so we can start playing our odds. Now spill sexy wife, tell me exactly what you want."

"What do you mean what I want?"

"Exactly that, what do you want? Babies? House in the country? Spa day in Tuscany?"

"We already live in a palace, Damon," Elena giggled, rewarding him for his hard work. "And I don't need anything extravagant like a spa day in Tuscany."

"Well there goes my Valentine's plan," Damon rolled his eyes.

"I really don't know what I want," she shook her head, twirling her glass on the counter. "I want you to love me forever."

"Done."

"Even if I can't get pregnant. You will still love me if I can't give you the little girl you want? If we never have a family, you'll still love me?"

"Elena, look at me," he said sternly and tilted her chin up to force her eyes to his. "I have loved you since the day your parents brought you home in your car seat. My universe has revolved around you for the better part of my life. There is nothing, _nothing_, in this entire world that would make me love you any less. You are everything to me. As much as I would love to have a family with you, getting to spend my life with you is already the greatest gift I could ask for."

Damon gazed at her intently, with nothing but love and hope shining from his crystalline eyes. Elena wanted so badly to fall into his arms and wrap herself up in the beauty of his words, letting them soak into every atom of her being and melt the little icicles of doubt around her heart… instead, she started giggling uncontrollably.

"Perfect," he groaned. "She laughs."

"I'm sorry, it's just that you're so sweet and I keep trying to remember the guy that everyone thought was a jerk and I can't."

"Don't worry, I think you'll break me of the sweet habit soon enough."

"I'm sorry for laughing, I love your sweetness," Elena said with a mock pout. She shifted from her seat to his lap and tucked her head under his chin. A comfortable silence fell back over them and he took solace in feeling her heart beat under his hands. He debated for a moment asking her about the accident but decided against it. Truthfully, he didn't want to know all the details. He knew enough to know that he was holding his own personal miracle in his arms. He knew enough to know that odds were meant to be beat.

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**A/N: So what did you think? Kind of a nadir there in the middle, but alas... hope abounds for our favorite duo :) You know me, fluffy and sweet... but do perhaps expect a little bit of angst (I mean come on... this IS DE we're talking about here ;)**

**XOXO ~Anna**


	19. Chapter 19: One

**New update, woot! This one is kind of short and admittedly hard to write. I wanted to show a little bit of the fallout from the doctor's revelation in the last chapter and how it's affected D/E's relationship. It's not my best work, but I hope you all like it nonetheless. We'll be back to being happy again very soon!**

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"Damon's been acting weird," Elena commented nonchalantly as she rifled through the racks of dresses at Nordstrom. She and Caroline had taken an extended lunch to pick out a dress for Caroline's Valentine's Day date with Stefan. She'd been on and on about the secret outing Stefan had been planning and Elena tried her best to cover up her own relationship predicament at the risk of clouding Caroline's optimism.

"Damon always acts weird," Caroline scoffed, she and the elder Salvatore had been especially at odds lately, since the baby incident and every small disagreement that followed turned into an argument. A cantankerous Damon was nothing new to Caroline, but he had seemed especially on edge lately, even for him. "But weird how?"

"I don't know, just _weird_. I can tell something has been bothering him but every time I ask he clams up and pretends that everything is ok. I think he's upset about the pregnancy fiasco because it started on the day we went to the doctor's and ever since he's been treating me like a porcelain doll," Elena said quietly. She wasn't sure how to get into the details of her problems, but Caroline was the one person she could open up completely too without fear of judgment.

"Maybe he's still just in shock," Caroline shrugged, trying to hide her building anxiety. She could tell that things between Elena and Damon had cooled over the past couple weeks but she figured maybe they were just keeping their affections more private. Problems in their relationship were the last thing she would have imagined since they had always seemed so perfect for one another.

"Yeah, maybe," Elena sighed. She looked up at the crimson sweetheart neckline dress that Caroline was holding up against her in the mirror. "That one is gorgeous, 'yes' pile for sure."

"You don't think it's too Valentine-y, I mean red is kind of cliché isn't it?" the blonde asked with her head cocked to the side as she looked at herself in the mirror. She wanted so badly for their date to be perfect and things between Stefan and her had been going so well.

"You look amazing in red, Care. Yes pile."

"Ok," she said with a broad smile, Elena could tell that she was dying to get the dress and just needed a little push. "So what makes you think he's being more careful with you?"

"This is so not an appropriate conversation to have in the middle of Nordstrom," Elena blushed all the way to her hairline.

"Are you kidding? I get my best thinking done here! This is serious retail/best friend therapy."

"Fine," Elena conceded. "He hasn't touched me in like… days. He doesn't even kiss me goodbye in the morning before I go to work, or when I get home. And in bed… well, there's nothing to talk about because there's nothing happening! He won't even cuddle with me!"

"I find that hard to believe," Caroline laughed but stopped immediately when she saw the little line of tears spring into her friend's eyes. "Wait, are you serious?"

"Yeah," Elena nodded and tried to covertly dab at her eyes. "Every time I try he just pushes me away and says he's tired or it's not the right time. I don't know what I did, Care. I don't know what changed, but he just doesn't want me anymore."

"First of all, that's crazy talk Lena. _Ca-razy_!" Caroline emphasized. "There's something else to it that he's just not telling you. He's a man and you know how they are with the feels. Just corner him when you get home tonight and drag it out of him."

"What if it's true and he doesn't want me anymore?"

"He does, Lena. I know he does, it's probably just a phase."

"I love him so much, more than is probably healthy. I couldn't…" Elena sniffled, letting her tears fall in earnest and making no effort to hide them. "With everything that happened I thought we were past this. I couldn't survive losing him."

"Sweetie, no. No, no, you're not going to lose him," Caroline cooed and wrapped Elena in a tight hug. "There has to be more to it. He loves you so much, he's always loved you so much."

"I'm not so sure anymore, Care," Elena cried as she pulled away from the comfort of her friend's hug. "He doesn't look at me like he used to."

"We just need to get you a little something something to spice things up," Caroline proposed with a grin. She grabbed her friend's hand and led her off to the lingerie department of the store. Caroline sailed past the racks of demure, sweet negligee sets directly to a display of particularly risqué numbers.

"_This_ is perfect," she smiled triumphantly and held up a black corset. In spite of herself, Elena smiled because she knew that was exactly the kind of thing Damon would like. _Desperate times_, Elena thought and tossed the outfit in her shopping bag.

"Damon," Elena called out as she entered his workshop. He had his back turned to her and she admired his form for a moment before trying again. He was spinning an elegantly carved piece of wood on the lathe. "Damon!"

She had to shout over the loud rock music that was blaring through the speakers of the radio. He barely caught the ringing of her voice during the bridge of the song and turned to see her wrapped up in his heavy wool pea coat, standing in the doorway looking smaller than she'd ever looked before. She flashed him a small, shy smile that sent his blood rushing below his belt. He wanted nothing more than to take her there and now but he balled his fists at his side to restrain himself.

"What are you doing out here?" he asked with concern and turned the CD player off. As he got closer he could see her shoulder shaking against the cold February wind. "You're shivering, baby. Go back inside where it's warm."

"No," she said stubbornly and ducked out of his embrace and into the well-lit workshop. "We need to talk. Now."

"What's wrong?" he asked and the look on his face nearly broke her heart. He looked like he halfway expected a break up speech, which hurt her deeply. "Are you ok?"

Elena couldn't even muster the words for the conversation they were about to have, so she just shook her head. A single tear fell down her cheek and she quickly swiped it away.

"Baby, what's wrong?" Damon pled and took her hands in his. He ran his thumbs gently over the back of her hand.

"Do you still love me?" she asked in a tiny voice that sounded pathetic even to her.

"Of course I do," he answered quickly and cupped her face in his hands. She could feel the roughness of his calluses but his skin was warm and soothing. "I love you more than anything in this entire world, Elena. You're my everything, baby."

Without warning Elena leapt at him and captured his lips in a passionate kiss. She wove her arms around his neck and dug her fingers into his dark hair. After a moment of shock he kissed her back, but pulled away just as she moved to wrap her legs around his waist.

"Elena, wait," he panted and tried to unwind her arms from his shoulders. "Wait, baby."

"Why? Isn't this your fantasy?" she asked with a sultry smirk and immediately busied herself with loosening the buttons on his shirt. He grabbed her hands and tore them away, pushing her arms back against her body and trying desperately to put some space between them.

"Elena, stop," he said more forcefully and backed away from her. "Not right now."

"Then when, Damon?" she cried and closed the distance between them again, effectively cornering him against his workbench. She tentatively ran her fingers up his chest to his collar and her fingers danced along the skin of his neck. "Because I've been waiting. I want you so bad, please baby, I need you," she whispered and kissed him again, more softly but it was laced with just as much need and desperation. She shrugged his coat off her shoulders, revealing the rich black brocade bodice of the corset she had picked out for him. His hands dipped down to graze the fabric that encased her breasts and he growled low in his throat. Under any other circumstances seeing her so assertive and aggressive would have been incredibly erotic and part of him wanted to give into her but he just couldn't shake the thought that he had lost her… twice, technically.

"Not here, Elena, it's freezing," he mumbled and pulled his jacket back up around her shoulders. When he reached for the zipper she pulled away and shoved his hands away from her violently. "You're going to get sick."

"Forget it, Damon," she spat and zipped it up herself, wiping the sleeves across her face to hide her embarrassment. "I won't inconvenience you again."

She turned on her heels and hurried away from his workshop back towards the house where she planned to pack a bag and head to Caroline's for a few days. She wasn't about to continue making a fool out of herself to save something that she had already lost.

"Elena!" Damon shouted and took off after her. When he reached her he grabbed the crook of her elbow to force him to face him. "Elena, what's going on?"

"Don't pretend like you care, if you don't want me anymore just say so and make this easier for both of us."

"Don't want—" he sputtered, trying to wrap his head around what his wife was saying. "What are you talking about, Elena?"

"You know exactly what I'm talking about! You can't even be bothered to kiss me anymore," she shrieked and pulled away from him. "Just be man enough to admit you don't want me anymore, Damon, instead of dragging it out."

He was too stunned to even respond to her wild accusations and just stood and stared at her, shell-shocked and bleeding from the very core of his soul. Elena scoffed at his silence and ran back to the house. He was too numb to follow her and he didn't know how long he stood out in the snow waiting to feel again.

As soon as his feet would follow his commands he trudged to their room but Elena wasn't there. Her things were still in their place so he assumed that she hadn't left. He walked blindly back out into the hallway to begin his search for her and saw a sliver of light from the guestroom she had always stayed in before moving in.

"Baby, please," Damon muttered as he entered the room. Elena had her back to the door but he could tell she was crying by the shuddering of the heap of blankets she was buried under.

"Go away, Damon," she growled acerbically. Never in all the time he'd known her had she ever taken a tone that like with him; even when she was angry she was gentle and warm, but her words were strikingly bitter and cold that it broke his heart almost instantly.

"No, I'm not going anywhere, Elena," he replied resolutely, swallowing back the tears of his own that were started to gather. He fumbled with the blankets for a minute before lifting them and sliding onto the bed behind her. He reached for her but she threw his arm off of her with a hiss of annoyance.

"Don't bother," she grumbled.

"Baby, you have to tell me what's wrong. You're scaring me now." He noticed that she had changed from the outfit she wanted to surprise him in. For the first time since they got married she was wearing her own pajamas to bed instead of one of his t-shirts, and he hated to admit it but it stung a little. He loved seeing her in his clothes.

"It's not my fault," she sobbed. "It's not my fault I can't have babies, but you promised that you would still love me and you don't."

"That's ridiculous, I adore you. I don't care that you can't have children; you're all I want, Elena. You're all I need. You."

"But you don't want me."

"I do, baby, I do. I love you so much."

"Why won't you make love to me anymore? Or kiss me?" she asked quietly. He didn't answer straight away, but instead put his arm back around her, which she didn't fight this time and buried his face in her hair. He inhaled deeply to fill his lungs were her springy floral scent.

"I lost you Elena," he whispered against her neck.

"What are you talking about?"

"You died, after the accident. The doctor told me about it. I lost you and I can't—I'm scared to lose you again."

"I'm not glass, Damon."

"I don't want to hurt you."

"I hurt without you," she countered and rolled over to face him. Her hands immediately found the broad planes of his chest

"Not here," he whispered, and her face instantly fell. He took her chin gently in his hands and turned her eyes up to his. "Not in this room. I want you back in _our_ room."

She gave him a small smile and a light flickered in her gaze. She snaked her arms around his neck and held him tightly, wanting nothing more than to feel his body against hers. He easily lifted her into his arms to carry her to their bedroom.

He laid her down softly on the sheets and crawled over her reverently.

"I'm right here, I'm yours, Damon. Always and forever," she whispered and pulled her camisole over her head. She took his hands and guided his fingers to the long pale scar on the left side of her abdomen. Damon craned his neck to her olive skin and traced his lips along the path of the scar with a feather-light touch. He had noticed the scar before but never thought anything of it, now it was such a poignant reminder to always love her and cherish her.

He made no effort to hold back the tear that dropped from his eyes and onto her stomach.

"You were there the whole time," Elena said quietly. "I couldn't open my eyes but I knew it was you by your voice. You were so sad, I just wanted to see you smile again—"

"No, baby," he said in a choked voice and put his finger over her lips. "I don't want to remember."

"I just wanted to see you smile again," she continued, pulling his hand away from her lips and holding it over her heart. "And your eyes, your laugh, Damon, it was all you. I just wanted to come back to you. I was so cold but whenever you held my hand I was warm."

"I don't know what I would have done if I lost you, Elena," he mumbled, his voice thick with emotion and vulnerability. He wanted to wrap her up in the softest blankets and build thousand foot walls around her to make sure nothing would ever hurt her again.

"You won't."

"I did though, Elena. It was so close, baby, and it hurts to know that."

"It's over, we made it. We survived. We always survive," she said in a comforting tone. She knew exactly how he felt, because it was likely much the same as she felt while he was in the hospital: powerless, hopeless, and afraid. She truly did believe that the worst was behind them; they had weathered nearly losing each other on two different occasions yet here they were, just as they were always meant to be.

She undressed him silently, never breaking from the intensity of his gaze, and pushed him onto his back on the pillows. She moved slowly, but surely, and peppered light kisses over his chest and his stomach until he was writhing under her touch. She pulled off her sweatpants and dropped them to the floor with the rest of their clothes and his eyes turned nearly black with desire.

"I love you so much," Elena whispered before lowering herself onto him. Without warning Damon sat up and wrapped his arms around her drawing a sharp gasp from her lips as he moved within her at a new angle.

She had expected him to flip her over and ravish her, so she was beyond speechless when he simply held her against his chest. She was momentarily overwhelmed by the intimacy of the situation and she could feel the coil deep in her belly string itself tighter and tighter by just feeling him inside of her. She'd never felt so vulnerable yet unflinchingly safe at the same time before as she did in that moment. Every doubt she had about Damon's feelings for her vanished and she gripped onto him more tightly, letting herself feel every inch of their joined bodies.

She sank quietly into bliss and she realized they could never lose one another because they were two parts of the whole. No matter what, they were one.

* * *

**A/N: So what did you think? Hopefully not too sad. We're nearing the end of the story, just a couple more chapters and the epilogue to go...**

**XOXO ~Anna**


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